Papers

A Review of Microplastic Identification and Characterization Methods in Aquatic Environments

This review evaluates the various methods used to identify and characterize microplastics in water environments, from visual sorting to advanced spectroscopy and thermal analysis techniques. Researchers compared the strengths and limitations of each approach, noting that no single method can fully capture the diversity of microplastic pollution. The study recommends combining multiple analytical techniques and standardizing protocols to improve the reliability of microplastic monitoring worldwide.

Microfiber emission from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Hungary

Researchers measured microfiber emissions from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Budapest, Hungary, and found that cellulose-based fibers dominated the effluent, with petroleum-based fibers like polyester also present. The study found seasonal variation in fiber concentrations and sizes, highlighting that wastewater treatment plants remain a pathway for both natural and synthetic microfibers to enter rivers.

Validation of microplastic sample preparation method for freshwater samples

Researchers developed and validated a standardized sample preparation method for extracting microplastics from freshwater samples, testing enzymatic digestion and density separation steps to improve recovery rates and reduce measurement uncertainty across different particle types.

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of microplastic pollution in a large European river

Researchers sampled the Budapest reach of the Danube River at multiple water column depths using a Multilevel Manta net, finding an average microplastic concentration of 0.311 mg/m³ (142 particles/m³) dominated by polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene fragments, and estimating substantial microplastic mass flux that underscores the Danube's role as a major transport pathway for plastic pollution.

The adsorption of drugs on nanoplastics has severe biological impact

Researchers used computational chemistry to examine how the antibiotic tetracycline adsorbs onto four different types of nanoplastics — polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and nylon. They found that nylon nanoplastics showed the strongest binding affinity for tetracycline, and these drug-plastic aggregates had significant biological impacts. The study suggests that nanoplastics carrying adsorbed pharmaceuticals could amplify health risks compared to either contaminant alone.

Insights into suspended sediment and microplastic budget of a lowland river: integrating in-situ measurements, Sentinel-2 imagery, and machine learning

Researchers combined river measurements, satellite imagery, and machine learning to track how much microplastic the Tisza River in Hungary carries downstream each day. They found that flood events spike microplastic transport five-fold, meaning a small number of high-water days drive the majority of plastic particles reaching the sea.

Ecological impacts of combined sewer overflows on receiving waters

This review examines how combined sewer overflows — when heavy rain causes sewers to release untreated waste directly into rivers — deliver microplastics, micropollutants, and pathogens into waterways, and evaluates management strategies for protecting water quality as climate change makes intense storms more frequent.

Environmental degradation and formation of secondary microplastics from packaging material: A polypropylene film case study

Applicability of Membranes in Protective Face Masks and Comparison of Reusable and Disposable Face Masks with Life Cycle Assessment

A comparison of reusable and disposable face masks using life cycle assessment found that while reusable masks have lower total environmental impact over their lifetime, disposable masks shed microplastic fibers that could enter both environmental and human biological systems.

Personal Air-Quality Monitoring with Sensor-Based Wireless Internet-of-Things Electronics Embedded in Protective Face Masks

This paper is not about microplastics. It presents a sensor-based air quality monitoring device embedded in protective face masks that measures temperature, humidity, pressure, and air quality index. While air quality monitoring is broadly relevant to respiratory health, this study focuses on electronics and IoT technology with no connection to microplastic detection or health effects.

Plastic waste from marine environment: Demonstration of possible routes for recycling by different manufacturing technologies

Artificially weathered marine plastic waste was subjected to accelerated aging that simulated marine environmental conditions, and recyclability of the weathered material was tested. The study found that marine weathering degraded plastic properties in ways that complicated recycling, identifying the need for specialized recycling processes for marine-collected plastic waste.

Ecotoxicity attenuation by acid-resistant nanofiltration in scandium recovery from TiO2 production waste

Researchers developed an ecotoxicity testing system to assess the environmental safety of waste streams generated during scandium recovery from industrial titanium dioxide production residues. They found that acid-resistant nanofiltration — the key purification step — reduced toxicity to bacteria, water fleas, and aquatic plants by up to 99-100%, demonstrating that this recovery technology can extract valuable rare earth metals while dramatically reducing environmental hazard.

Significant benefits from international cooperation over marine plastic pollution

Researchers modelled the benefits of international cooperation in addressing marine plastic pollution, finding that the interconnected nature of ocean systems means that unilateral national actions produce substantially smaller reductions in plastic accumulation than coordinated multinational agreements. The study quantified how sharing costs and strategies across nations could significantly improve outcomes for marine ecosystem protection and human well-being.

Changes in concentrations of potentially toxic elements during storage of hard river water samples at low temperatures using different sample preservation procedures

Researchers compared two sample preservation procedures - on-site filtration and acidification before freezing versus freezing then thawing before filtration - for determining potentially toxic element concentrations in hard river water by ICP-MS. They found that freezing unfiltered hard water samples can trigger calcium carbonate precipitation and co-precipitation of trace elements, potentially biasing monitored concentrations and challenging the Water Framework Directive-recommended protocol.

Decomposition Behavior of Stereocomplex PLA Melt-Blown Fine Fiber Mats in Water and in Compost

Researchers examined the decomposition behavior of stereocomplex polylactic acid (PLA) melt-blown fine fiber mats when exposed to both water and compost environments to assess their biodegradability. The study characterized how the stereocomplex PLA structure influences degradation rates and mechanisms under aquatic versus composting conditions, relevant to understanding the environmental fate of this biodegradable polymer in different disposal pathways.

Utilization of a Novel Immunofluorescence Instrument Prototype for the Determination of the Herbicide Glyphosate

Researchers developed an enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay method using a novel immunofluorescence instrument prototype for quantitative determination of the herbicide glyphosate in environmental matrices including surface water, soil, and plant tissues. The method provided sensitive detection of glyphosate as a ubiquitous agricultural pollutant across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

“Fishing and Hunting”—Selective Immobilization of a Recombinant Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase from Fermentation Media

This study presents a streamlined method for immobilizing industrial enzymes using magnetic nanoparticles, avoiding the costly purification steps normally required. The technique improves efficiency in enzyme-based industrial processes, though it is not directly related to microplastic research.

Characterization of suspended solids in treated wastewater: a case study in Budapest

Examination of injection moulded thermoplastic maize starch

This study examined how different injection molding conditions and storage methods affect the properties of thermoplastic maize starch, a biodegradable plastic alternative. Understanding how processing affects biodegradable plastic performance is relevant to developing better alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics.

A Shear Reynolds Number-Based Classification Method of the Nonuniform Bed Load Transport

Researchers developed a method based on shear Reynolds numbers to classify bed load transport in rivers with mixed sediment. Understanding how particles of different sizes move in rivers is relevant to modeling how microplastics, which vary in size and density, are transported and deposited in river systems.

Validation of pressurized fractionated filtration microplastic sampling in controlled test environment

This study validated a pressurized cascade filtration method for sampling microplastics in water under controlled conditions, testing recovery rates at different turbulence levels and sampling depths. Validated sampling methods are critical for producing reliable and comparable microplastic data across different environments.

A Shear Reynolds Number Based Investigation Method of the Bed Load Transport in Large Rivers with Complex Morphodynamics

A new shear Reynolds number-based method was developed to separate sand and gravel-dominated bed load transport in large rivers with mixed-size bed material, overcoming limitations of the standard Shields-Parker diagram. The approach enables more accurate local predictions of sediment transport in rivers with complex flow and morphology.