Papers

Microplastics as carriers of toxic pollutants: Source, transport, and toxicological effects

This review summarizes how microplastics absorb and carry toxic pollutants like persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and antibiotics through the environment, concentrating these harmful chemicals as they move through ecosystems. When organisms ingest these contaminated particles, the pollutants can build up in the food chain and eventually reach humans, making microplastics not just a physical hazard but also a chemical delivery system.

Advances in Nitrogen-Rich Wastewater Treatment: A Comprehensive Review of Modern Technologies

This review covers biological, physical, and chemical methods for removing nitrogen from wastewater, comparing techniques like simultaneous nitrification-denitrification and membrane filtration. While not directly focused on microplastics, advanced wastewater treatment is relevant because improved systems could also help capture microplastic particles before they reach drinking water sources.

Assessing the environmental footprint of recycled plastic pellets: A life-cycle assessment perspective

This study used life-cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of producing recycled plastic pellets from waste polyolefin plastics. While recycling reduced carbon emissions compared to making new plastic, the process still required significant energy, especially when solvent recovery was maximized. The research is relevant to the microplastics problem because it shows that even recycling processes need optimization to truly reduce the environmental footprint of plastic waste.

The power of MXene-based materials for emerging contaminant removal from water - A review

This review examines MXenes, a new class of two-dimensional materials being developed for water purification. These materials show strong potential for removing a range of pollutants from water, including microplastics, heavy metals, pharmaceutical residues, and PFAS (forever chemicals). Better water treatment technology like this could reduce human exposure to microplastics and other contaminants in drinking water.

Urine biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease: A new opportunity for wastewater-based epidemiology?

Researchers explored whether Alzheimer's disease biomarkers found in urine could be detected in wastewater to track disease trends across entire communities — a method called wastewater-based epidemiology. While promising biomarkers exist in urine, key questions about their stability and concentration in sewage must be resolved before this surveillance approach can be implemented.

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens: Harnessing Its Potential for Industrial, Medical, and Agricultural Applications—A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review covers the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which has wide-ranging applications in industry, medicine, and agriculture, including use as a natural fertilizer and disease-fighting agent for crops. While not directly about microplastics, this bacterium is part of the growing toolkit of biological solutions that could reduce reliance on plastic-based agricultural products and chemical treatments. Research into beneficial bacteria like this one is relevant to developing sustainable farming practices that produce less plastic pollution.

Advances and recent trends in plant-based materials and edible films: a mini-review

This review highlights recent advances in plant-based packaging materials and edible films made from natural polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic packaging. Researchers explored how 3D printing and functionalization strategies can enhance the mechanical strength, barrier properties, and shelf-life extension of these materials. The findings point toward a growing toolkit of biodegradable options that could help reduce plastic waste in food packaging.

Enhanced Area Triboelectric Nanogenerator Utilizing Recycled Single Used Plastic Bubble Wrap and Discarded Sketching Paper Ensuring Circularity of Material

Researchers developed a low-cost triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) made from recycled single-use bubble wrap and discarded sketching paper, demonstrating a way to convert waste plastics into functional energy-harvesting devices. The study suggests that repurposing plastic waste into sustainable electronics could help address both plastic pollution and energy consumption concerns.

Microplastic-induced alterations in water flow and solute transport dynamics in soil

Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to measure how microplastics alter water flow and nutrient transport through soil. They found that polyethylene and PVC microplastics clogged soil pores, reducing water conductivity by up to 74% and creating uneven flow patterns. The study suggests that microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils could significantly impair water and nutrient delivery to crops.

Updated review on microplastics in water, their occurrence, detection, measurement, environmental pollution, and the need for regulatory standards

This review examines microplastic occurrence, detection methods, and measurement techniques in aquatic environments, highlighting the urgent need for explicit regulatory frameworks to address the growing threat of microplastic pollution in water systems.

Knowledge gaps on micro and nanoplastics and human health: A critical review

This critical review assessed current evidence on micro- and nanoplastic exposure and human health, concluding that while humans are ubiquitously exposed via food, water, and air, the long-term health effects of chronic low-level exposure remain poorly understood.

Artificial intelligence for modeling and reducing microplastic in marine environments: A review of current evidence

This review examines how artificial intelligence is being applied to address marine microplastic pollution, including modeling accumulation zones, developing real-time detection systems using remote sensing and robotics, and creating AI-based filtration technologies. The study suggests that while AI holds significant promise for predicting microplastic flows and supporting targeted cleanup efforts, challenges remain around data availability, model refinement, and international collaboration.

3D-Printed recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sandwich structures – Influence of infill design and density on tensile, dynamic mechanical, and creep response

Researchers 3D-printed structural components using filament made from recycled plastic bottles (PET) and tested different internal geometric patterns to find the strongest design, demonstrating that circular economy approaches — turning plastic waste into useful manufactured parts — can produce materials with good mechanical properties while reducing plastic pollution.

Sustainable Solution for Plastic Pollution: Upcycling Waste Polypropylene Masks for Effective Oil-Spill Management

Researchers synthesized an oil-sorbent pouch from waste polypropylene face masks using spin coating to create microporous and fibrous thin films, demonstrating effective oil-spill cleanup performance. Upcycling pandemic waste polypropylene into functional oil-absorbent materials addresses both the surge in mask waste and the environmental problem of plastic-derived microplastics.

Optimization of Micro-Pollutants’ Removal from Wastewater Using Agricultural Waste-Derived Sustainable Adsorbent

Agricultural waste-derived biochar adsorbent was optimized for removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from industrial wastewater, with the study presenting the first use of this specific waste-derived material to address PAH contamination in water.

AI-driven biochar engineering for emerging pollutants removal from water: performance, mechanisms, and environmental perspectives

Researchers reviewed how biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — can be engineered at different levels of complexity, from raw biochar to AI-optimized advanced composites, to remove emerging pollutants like pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and micro- and nanoplastics from water. The review advocates for using AI to guide material design and prioritizing simpler, more sustainable biochar forms unless more advanced composites are truly necessary.

Non-Wettable Microporous Sheets Using Mixed Polyolefin Waste for Oil–Water Separation

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper describes manufacturing non-wettable porous sheets from recycled polyethylene and polypropylene waste for oil-water separation, focusing on materials recycling rather than microplastic pollution.

Designing super-fast trimodal sponges using recycled polypropylene for organics cleanup

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper develops a trimodal sponge from recycled polypropylene for absorbing oil spills, focusing on sorption kinetics and capacity for environmental remediation of hydrocarbon contaminants.

A review of prospects and current scenarios of biomass co-pyrolysis for water treatment

This review examines biomass co-pyrolysis as a strategy to produce enhanced biochars for water treatment, finding that combining different biomass feedstocks can improve biochar surface area and porosity, making the resulting materials more effective adsorbents for removing contaminants including microplastics.

Methodology for integrating lumped kinetic models and decision-making frameworks to enhance sustainability of plastic waste pyrolysis

Researchers developed a multi-scale methodology linking laboratory pyrolysis kinetics to high-level sustainability decision-making, demonstrating that using pyrolysis gas for heat supply maximizes circularity while selling LPG byproducts yields the highest profit, offering a replicable framework for evaluating plastic waste conversion options.

Demand side management opportunities, framework, and implications for sustainable development in resource-rich countries: Case study Qatar

The Role of Nanofluids and Renewable Energy in the Development of Sustainable Desalination Systems: A Review

This review examines the potential of nanofluids and renewable energy to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of water desalination systems. It is a water technology engineering paper not directly related to microplastics.

Bibliometric Analysis of Emerging Trends in Research on Microplastic Pollution in Post-Paris Agreement and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic World