A Review on Heavy Metal Ion Adsorption on Synthetic Microfiber Surface in Aquatic Environments

Synthetic microfibers (SMFs), tiny particles which gets fragmented from large fragments of large synthetic fibers having less than 10 µm in diameter, have gathered ubiquitously in each and every corner of the earth. After their release into the aquatic environment, they remain there without natural degradation. Furthermore, it can be anticipated that floating units are transported along the food chain leading to bioaccumulation. It has been estimated that approximately 10-20 Mt of large fabric products as garbage enter into aquatic system per annum. Recently, these synthetic fragments have been investigated as transporters of heavy metal ions (HMs) showing different types of interactions. Yet, the underlying mechanism of these types of interaction is not known, especially the factors stimulating this process and how badly they affect biotic communities. Through this article, a detailed survey was carried out on the sources of microfibers and HMs into the aquatic environment, adsorption of different types of HMs on the SMF surface, mechanics favors these HM-MF interactions, particularly highlighting the significant roles of interaction on microbial biofilm formation. Their collaborative effects which possess harmful effects on aquatic as well as terrestrial organisms was also discussed. Lastly, the future investigations should focus on rigorous research in this field. This article to the best of our knowledge briefly describes the current research developments and emphasizes the vital function of the microorganisms on MFs-HMs interactions with the encouragement for rigorous research in this field to reveal accurate mechanisms and decrease the hazards related with MF presence.