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Research on Microplastic Pollution in Water Environment
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Research on Microplastic Pollution in Water Environment

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1353

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Aravin Prince Periyasamy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
2. VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, Espoo, Finland
Interests: green chemistry; microplastics; dye removal; chromic materials; textile and polymer processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to the forthcoming Special Issue titled ‘Research on Microplastic Pollution in Water Environment’, which will be published in Water, an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal by MDPI. Microplastics are significant pollutants in the global water environment, originating from diverse anthropogenic sources and persisting in marine, freshwater, and wastewater systems. Microplastics, due to their diminutive size, widespread presence, and ability to adsorb and transport hazardous substances, present significant threats to aquatic ecosystems, biodiversity, and potentially human health. This Special Issue seeks to gather innovative research and thorough reviews that enhance our comprehension of microplastic pollution, its ecological effects, and the formulation of monitoring, mitigation, and policy approaches. Submissions are invited on a range of topics, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Sources, distribution, and transport of microplastics in aquatic environments.
  • Analytical and detection methods for microplastic identification.
  • Use of AI in the microplastics detection.
  • Interaction of microplastics with pollutants and organisms.
  • Toxicological and ecological effects on aquatic life.
  • Human exposure routes and risk assessments.
  • Wastewater treatment technologies for microplastic removal.
  • Strategies for reduction and mitigation techniques and policy frameworks.

Dr. Aravin Prince Periyasamy
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microplastics
  • aquatic pollution
  • water contimination
  • marine microplastics
  • biodiversity
  • microplastic detec-tion
  • nano-microplastics
  • policy and regulation on microplastics
  • bioaccumulation
  • human health

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3498 KB  
Article
Comparative Distribution of Microplastics in Different Inland Aquatic Ecosystems
by George Kehayias, Penelope Kanellopoulou, Achilleas Kechagias, Aris E. Giannakas, Constantinos E. Salmas, Theofanis N. Maimaris and Michael A. Karakassides
Water 2025, 17(23), 3432; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17233432 - 3 Dec 2025
Viewed by 392
Abstract
The widespread dispersion of microplastics (MPs) has been recognized as a pervasive and persistent environmental contaminant in worldwide freshwater ecosystems, and although relative studies have skyrocketed, there are still significant knowledge gaps in areas like southern Europe. This study assesses the microplastic pollution [...] Read more.
The widespread dispersion of microplastics (MPs) has been recognized as a pervasive and persistent environmental contaminant in worldwide freshwater ecosystems, and although relative studies have skyrocketed, there are still significant knowledge gaps in areas like southern Europe. This study assesses the microplastic pollution in seven Greek inland aquatic ecosystems which vary in morphology, trophic status, and anthropogenic pressure. Surface and vertical samples were taken with 200 μm plankton nets. MPs were present in all samples, with fibers being the dominant form, having an abundance range between 0.47 and 149.4 items/m3 with fragments between 0.08 and 9.17 items/m3. Fibers and fragments had greater abundance in the vertical than in the surface samples. There were no significant abundance differences between lakes and lagoons, and among the sampling sites in each ecosystem. Blue and transparent were the colors that prevailed, and most of the fibers and fragments were smaller than 1 mm. Four types of MPs were recorded, with PET (polyethylene terephthalate) being the most frequent. The use of the novel Relative Anthropogenic Pressure (RAP) index resulted in positive correlations between certain sociological parameters and the microplastics’ abundance, efficiently reflecting the impingement of human populations on the inland aquatic ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Microplastic Pollution in Water Environment)
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17 pages, 3129 KB  
Article
Microplastic Pollution in Typical Subtropical Rivers in Eastern China: A Case Study of the Feiyun River Basin
by Tingyun Tan, Aqiu Liu, Yahan Yang, Ruizhang Yu, Nansheng Lin, Qiang Ke and Qi Wang
Water 2025, 17(21), 3170; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17213170 - 5 Nov 2025
Viewed by 682
Abstract
The widespread and excessive use of plastic in our daily life has led to serious microplastic pollution in the atmosphere, water, and soil. These microplastics can enter freshwater systems and pose significant risks to the ecosystem and human health via the food chain. [...] Read more.
The widespread and excessive use of plastic in our daily life has led to serious microplastic pollution in the atmosphere, water, and soil. These microplastics can enter freshwater systems and pose significant risks to the ecosystem and human health via the food chain. This environmental problem deserves proper investigation and mitigation strategies. In this study, the abundance, morphology, color, size and polymer composition of microplastics in surface water of Feiyun River Basin were systematically studied by means of field sampling, microscopy and laser micro-Raman spectroscopy. The result showed that microplastic abundance ranged from 3.7 to 36.4 items/L, with an average of 11.0 ± 2.39 items/L. These microplastics were mainly particles, followed by fragments and fibers, with white, black, and blue being the most common colors. Most of the particles were smaller than 0.1 mm (57%), and a laser micro-Raman spectrometer was used to identify the polymer types of the microplastics. The results showed that the main polymer types identified were PET, PP, and PS. Risk assessment based on PLI, PHI, and PERI indices indicated a low ecological risk of microplastics in the study area. These findings provide further insight into the sources and distribution of microplastics in local watersheds and support future assessments of riverine transport of microplastics to estuarine and marine environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Microplastic Pollution in Water Environment)
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