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Microplastic in water and wastewater: occurrence, toxicity, analytical approach, and remediation
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This comprehensive review analyzed microplastic occurrence and toxicity in water and wastewater across studies from all continents, finding polyethylene and polypropylene as the most common polymer types and reviewing detection, quantification, and remediation methods.
The occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environments is constantly expanding. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the concentrations, typologies, and fate of MPs in water and wastewater. Their occurrence and toxicity were examined, detailing an analytical approach for detection, quantification, and remediation. A diversity of studies that include countries of all continents was collected and compared to identify patterns of composition and size, in addition to analyzing the distribution of MPs. The study showed that polyethylene and polypropylene were the most common polymers in surface waters, being reported on all continents. PET and PE stood out as the polymers with the highest environmental risk. However, few studies were observed in developing countries. South America, both for water and wastewater, was the continent with the fewest studies reported in literature. MP presence was confirmed in countries such as Brazil and Bolivia, but few studies reported these identifications and quantifications. These gaps can impede the formulation and implementation of effective policies. Thus, developing robust legislation to identify, quantify, and regulate MPs is essential to protect the environment and public health.
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This review summarizes research on microplastic pollution across freshwater and marine ecosystems on all six continents, finding that polyethylene and polypropylene are the most common types found in water. The study highlights that microplastics serve as carriers for toxic chemicals and can move up the food chain, ultimately posing risks to human health through seafood consumption and drinking water.
Factors Controlling Microplastic Concentrations and Polymer Profiles in Wastewater, Storm Water, and Surface Water
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A critical review of 143 studies found that microplastic concentrations in wastewater span eight orders of magnitude, with the highest levels in the smallest particle size fractions, while polyethylene and polypropylene are the most commonly detected polymers across freshwater systems. The wide variation is largely an artifact of inconsistent sampling, extraction, and analytical methods, making direct comparisons between studies unreliable and complicating decisions about water treatment and regulation.
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This review provides a broad overview of microplastic contamination across freshwater, marine, and land environments, finding concentrations ranging from negligible to hundreds of thousands of particles per kilogram of sediment. The most common types are polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, and PET, spread by wastewater discharge, stormwater runoff, and poor waste management. The wide variability in contamination levels makes it difficult to assess overall risk to ecosystems and human health.
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This comprehensive review compared methods for analyzing microplastics in water—including spectroscopy, microscopy, and filtration techniques—and evaluated treatment approaches for removing MPs from wastewater, synthesizing findings across global studies on occurrence patterns and remediation effectiveness.
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This review covers the different types of microplastics found in water, methods used to detect them, and strategies for removing them from water sources. Microplastics enter water systems from both industrial sources and the breakdown of larger plastic waste, posing threats to aquatic life and potentially human health. The authors evaluate removal techniques including filtration, chemical treatment, and biological approaches that could help clean contaminated water.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.