Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Simultaneous degradation of microplastics and sludge during wet air oxidation

This study showed that wet air oxidation (WAO) — a high-temperature, high-pressure sludge treatment — can simultaneously break down polyethylene, polystyrene, and PET microplastics along with the sewage sludge they contaminate. All three plastic types were degraded without leaving detectable solid plastic residues, with acetic acid as the primary breakdown product. This is significant because conventional wastewater treatment cannot destroy microplastics, so WAO represents a promising upgrade for eliminating a major environmental release pathway.

2023 Environmental Pollution 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Ozone-mediated breakdown of microplastics in aqueous environments

Researchers examined how ozone-based advanced oxidation processes break down microplastics in water treatment settings. They found that while ozone can degrade certain plastics, the effectiveness varies depending on particle size, polymer type, and treatment conditions, and the process may generate nanoplastic byproducts. The study highlights both the promise and limitations of ozone treatment as a strategy for removing microplastics from wastewater.

2025 Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate, characteristics, and potential threat of microplastics in sludge under various dewatering treatments

Researchers compared four different sludge dewatering treatments used at wastewater plants and examined how each process affected the microplastics trapped in the sludge. They found that advanced oxidation treatments altered the surface properties of the microplastics and increased their ability to absorb heavy metals. The findings raise concerns that certain sludge treatment methods could make microplastics more environmentally hazardous when the treated sludge is disposed of or reused.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastics during conventional and hydrothermal treatments of sewage sludge: a short review

This review examines the fate of microplastics during conventional and hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge, noting that approximately 90% of microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants are retained in sludge. Researchers found that while conventional disposal routes concentrate microplastics in sludge destined for land application, hydrothermal treatments offer potential pathways to degrade or transform microplastics, though the efficiency and byproducts of these processes require further investigation.

2025 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

Microplastic degradation methods and corresponding degradation mechanism: Research status and future perspectives

This review summarizes current methods for degrading microplastics, including advanced oxidation processes, biodegradation, and thermal treatments, along with their underlying mechanisms. The study highlights that while several approaches show promise in laboratory settings, challenges remain in scaling these technologies for real-world environmental remediation of microplastic pollution.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 313 citations
Article Tier 2

Transformation of Traditional Wastewater Treatment Methods into Advanced Oxidation Processes and the Role of Ozonation

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it reviews advanced oxidation processes with a focus on ozonation for wastewater treatment, covering microbial inactivation and degradation of organic pollutants.

2023 Journal of Ecological Engineering 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastic during pyrolysis of sewage sludge

Researchers examined how pyrolysis as a sewage sludge treatment method affects the fate of embedded microplastics, finding that thermal treatment largely destroys plastic particles. However, some polymer-derived volatile compounds transferred to pyrolysis gases and oils, suggesting that microplastic destruction does not eliminate all associated chemical risks.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Degradation of Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment by Advanced Oxidation Process

This review examines advanced oxidation processes as a potential green solution for degrading microplastics in aquatic environments, evaluating how strong oxidants generated by these processes effectively break down recalcitrant plastic particles that resist conventional treatment.

2025
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics in granular sludge systems: mechanisms of disruption, retention, and microbial adaptation in wastewater treatment technologies

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt the biological systems used to treat wastewater, focusing on granular sludge technologies. Plastic particles damage the microbial communities that break down waste by causing oxidative stress and breaking apart the protective structures that hold bacteria together. This matters because if wastewater treatment becomes less effective due to plastic contamination, more pollutants including microplastics could pass through into waterways that supply drinking water.

2025 Water Research X 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Removal from Municipal Wastewater Through Oxide-Biological Processes. Phase 1: Preliminary Fragmentation of Microplastics from Wastewater and Aerobic Pre-conditioning of Wastewater with Activated Sludge

Researchers tested a combined treatment approach for removing microplastics from municipal wastewater, involving mechanical fragmentation followed by biological treatment with activated sludge. The preliminary results suggest that oxidative pre-treatment can reduce microplastic particle size, potentially making them more amenable to biological breakdown in wastewater systems.

2023 E3S Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics removal from water and solid matrices: Technologies, challenges, and future perspectives

Researchers reviewed a decade of research on micro- and nanoplastic removal technologies across water and solid matrices, finding that conventional water treatment achieves over 80% microplastic removal but transfers most particles to sludge rather than degrading them, while advanced oxidation processes show strong degradation potential under controlled but not yet real-world conditions.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Wet oxidation technology can significantly reduce both microplastics and nanoplastics

Researchers evaluated wet oxidation technology at an industrial scale for its ability to reduce micro- and nanoplastic contamination in organic waste processing. The study found that wet oxidation decreased the total mass concentration of microplastics and nanoplastics by 94.8% to 98.6%, completely removing fibers and certain polymer types while still enabling recovery of organic resources.

2024 Water Research 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced Oxidation Processes for Degrading Microplastics in Aqueous Media

This review examines advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as a promising approach for degrading microplastics in water, offering an alternative to conventional methods like coagulation and membrane filtration that merely relocate particles. The study highlights that AOPs can break down long polymer chains into simpler byproducts and emphasizes the importance of developing integrated remediation technologies aligned with circular economy principles.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced oxidation in the treatment of microplastics in water: A Review

Researchers reviewed how advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) — chemical methods that generate highly reactive molecules — can break down microplastics in water rather than simply filtering them out. Unlike traditional treatment that just moves microplastics around, some AOPs can fully convert plastic fragments into carbon dioxide and water, making them a promising frontier for actual microplastic destruction in water treatment.

2025 Desalination and Water Treatment 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Research advances of biodegradable microplastics in wastewater treatment plant: Current knowledge and future directions

This review examines how biodegradable plastics break down into microplastics during wastewater treatment and their effects on the treatment process. Biodegradable microplastics can alter microbial communities in treatment systems and carry pollutants on their surfaces due to abundant oxygen-containing chemical groups. The findings challenge the notion that biodegradable plastics are a complete solution to plastic pollution, since they still generate microplastics that could affect water quality and human health.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Degradation in Water: A Review of Advanced Oxidative Processes and Ozonation for Effective Treatment

This review examines advanced oxidative processes (AOPs) and ozonation as emerging technologies for degrading microplastics in drinking water and aquatic environments, covering both identification and quantification methods alongside treatment efficacy. The authors assess the challenges and capabilities of these approaches in addressing the growing concern over microplastic contamination in water supplies.

2025 Asian Journal of Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Insights into the removal of microplastics and microfibres by Advanced Oxidation Processes

This review examines whether Advanced Oxidation Processes, which use reactive chemical species to break down pollutants, could help remove microplastics and microfibres from wastewater. Researchers found that while these processes show promise for degrading certain plastic polymers, effectiveness varies by plastic type and treatment conditions. The study highlights the need for more research on applying these technologies at scale in water treatment plants.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 115 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation of microplastic in water by advanced oxidation processes

This review covers advanced methods for breaking down microplastics in water using powerful chemical reactions and light-activated catalysts that can degrade plastic particles into less harmful substances. Developing effective ways to destroy microplastics in water is critical for human health because conventional water treatment plants do not fully remove these particles from drinking water sources.

2024 Chemosphere 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastic during pyrolysis of sewage sludge

Researchers investigated what happens to microplastics embedded in sewage sludge when sludge is treated by pyrolysis, a high-temperature thermochemical process. Pyrolysis effectively destroyed most microplastic particles, but some residual polymer-derived compounds partitioned into the pyrolysis products.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in mechanistic insights into microplastics mitigation strategies via emerging advanced oxidation processes: Legislation, challenges, and future direction

This review examines advanced oxidation processes as a promising approach for breaking down microplastics in water, covering techniques like photocatalysis, electrochemical oxidation, and ozonation. Researchers analyzed how these methods break apart plastic polymer chains at the molecular level and identified key limitations that must be overcome. The study also discusses current plastic pollution legislation and emphasizes the need for stronger regulatory frameworks alongside technological solutions.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Degradation through Thermal Hydrolysis in Sewage Sludge and Its Impact on the Anaerobic Process

Researchers found that thermal hydrolysis pretreatment of sewage sludge reduced microplastic concentrations from 206 particles/g to lower levels, with approximately 54% of microplastics initially in solid phase, and examined the implications for sludge management and microplastic fate.

2025 ACS ES&T Water
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in sewage sludge: Distribution, toxicity, identification methods, and engineered technologies

This review examines how microplastics accumulate in sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, which then becomes a major pathway for spreading these particles into the environment. Researchers found that sludge can contain extremely high concentrations of microplastics, ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of particles per kilogram. The study evaluates current detection methods and emerging technologies for removing microplastics from sludge before it is applied to agricultural land or disposed of.

2022 Chemosphere 106 citations
Article Tier 2

MicroplasticDegradation through Thermal Hydrolysisin Sewage Sludge and Its Impact on the Anaerobic Process

Researchers investigated the fate of microplastics in sewage sludge during thermal hydrolysis pretreatment and found that temperatures of 140-180°C significantly degraded microplastics while also affecting subsequent anaerobic biogas production from the treated sludge.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Advances in chemical removal and degradation technologies for microplastics in the aquatic environment: A review

This review summarizes recent advances in chemical methods for breaking down microplastics in water, comparing the effectiveness of various techniques including advanced oxidation processes. Developing better ways to destroy microplastics in water is important for public health because current wastewater treatment plants cannot fully remove these persistent particles before water reaches consumers.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 45 citations