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Constructed wetlands for emerging pollutants removal: A decade of advances and future directions (2014–2024)
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This review evaluates a decade of research on constructed wetlands, an eco-friendly water treatment approach, for removing emerging pollutants including antibiotics and microplastics. The evidence shows that constructed wetlands can effectively remove many types of pharmaceuticals and microplastics from water through a combination of physical filtration, microbial breakdown, and plant uptake. These low-cost, nature-based systems could help reduce human exposure to microplastics in treated water, though optimizing their design for different pollutant types remains a challenge.
Emerging Pollutants (EPs), including Pharmaceuticals and Personal care products (PPCPs) (particularly antibiotics) and microplastics (MPs), have posed significant threats to the global water environment and human health due to their widespread presence and high environmental risks. Constructed wetlands (CWs), as a low-cost, eco-friendly green infrastructure, have gained increasing attention for the EPs purification, particularly over the past decade. Numerous studies have shown that CWs are capable of removing 134 types of PPCPs and various microplastics. This paper reviews the literature on the removal of EPs using CWs from 2014 to 2024. The review provides a detailed analysis of CWs types, plants and substrate selection, operational parameters, environmental factors, and the physicochemical properties of EPs. Additionally, the review elaborates on the multiple effects of plants, substrates, and microorganisms in the removal of EPs through physical, chemical, and biological processes. Furthermore, future perspectives and knowledge gaps related to CWs for EPs removal are identified, aiming to offer scientific guidance for further research and large-scale engineering applications. • CWs are currently capable of removing 134 types of PPCPs and various MPs. • Removal PPCPs and MPs achieved through multifaceted processes. • CWs' characteristics and contaminant properties affect the PPCPs and MPs removal. • Further research is needed to explore sensor monitoring in CWs to optimize performance.
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Role of Constructed Wetlands in Wastewater Treatment and Mitigation of Emerging Contaminants
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This review examines how constructed wetlands can serve as sustainable, cost-effective systems for treating wastewater and removing emerging contaminants including nanoplastics, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The authors describe how physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms work together in these engineered ecosystems to break down persistent pollutants. The study suggests that constructed wetlands offer a promising nature-based solution for addressing contaminants that conventional treatment methods struggle to remove.
Combined Microplastic–Antibiotic Pollution in Surface Water: Distribution, Interaction Mechanisms, Risks, and Implications for Mitigation by Constructed Wetlands
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This review summarizes existing research on tiny plastic particles and antibiotics found together in surface waters, how they interact chemically, and the risks they may pose, including toxicity and antibiotic resistance spread. It also looks at whether constructed wetlands, which use plants, soil and microbes to treat water, could help reduce this combined pollution.
Nature-Based Solutions for Removal of Microplastics from Wastewater: Technologies, Challenges, and Prospects
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This review evaluates nature-based solutions for removing microplastics from wastewater, including constructed wetlands, green infrastructure, and aquatic plants. The study found that these approaches can achieve removal efficiencies up to 99-100%, offering ecologically friendly alternatives to conventional treatment methods, though challenges remain with long-term efficiency and removal of other contaminants.
Constructed wetlands as neglected fixed source of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes in natural water bodies?
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This review examines constructed wetlands as potential sources of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) released into natural water bodies, assessing their effectiveness at removing both types of pollutants. While constructed wetlands can reduce microplastics and ARGs through adsorption, filtration, and biodegradation, they may also act as reservoirs that release these contaminants under certain conditions.
Microplastic retention by integrated constructed wetlands
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Researchers monitored microplastic retention efficiency at two integrated constructed wetlands in England over 12 months, finding that these nature-based water treatment systems could capture a significant fraction of microplastics from wastewater treatment plant effluent. Constructed wetlands offer a low-cost, ecologically beneficial approach to further reducing microplastic loads before treated water enters rivers.
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