A new study identifies a potential way to remove microplastics from water with fungi.

“Although fungal pelletization has been studied for algae harvesting and wastewater treatment in the past decade, to the best of our knowledge, it has not yet been applied for the removal of microplastics from an aqueous environment,” says Susie Dai, an associate professor in the plant pathology and microbiology department at Texas A&M University. “This study examines their use for that purpose.”

Microplastics, tiny plastic particles resulting from commercial product development and the breakdown of larger plastics, have gained increasing attention in recent years due to their potential harm to the ecosystem. With the continual increase of global plastic production, pollution from this persistent waste contaminant group derived from synthetic polymers presents a significant environmental challenge.

While the health risks posed by submicrometer microplastics to humans are not yet fully understood, those studying them generally believe the overall risk associated with submicrometer microplastics—those less than a micron in a specified measurement—is higher than that of larger plastics. They hypothesize this is due in large measure to their greater potential for long-range transport and ability to more easily penetrate the cells of living organisms.

“Previous studies have indicated that submicrometer microplastics can easily travel considerable distances in the environment, infiltrating plant root cell walls,” says study leader and postdoctoral scientist Huaimin Wang. “They have even been shown to have been transported into plant fruiting bodies and human placenta.”

Besides microplastics generated from direct human activity such as cosmetic and industrial production, nanoplastics—synthetic polymer particulates ranging from 1 nanometer to 1 micrometer in diameter—can also be generated from the fragmentation or degradation of larger plastics.

A significant portion of microplastics generated from human activities end up in sewage and wastewater treatment plants. While these plants can remove the vast majority of them, many of the submicrometer particles are unfiltered.

Read the full article about fungi can address microplastics by Paul Schattenberg at Futurity.