Papers

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Article Tier 2

Recent approaches and advanced wastewater treatment technologies for mitigating emerging microplastics contamination – A critical review

This review critically assessed advanced wastewater treatment technologies for removing microplastics, noting that conventional treatment plants act as both barriers and point sources for microplastic release into the environment. The study suggests that advanced treatment approaches such as membrane filtration and advanced oxidation processes show promise for improving microplastic removal efficiency from wastewater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 243 citations
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: An overview of source and remediation technologies

This review examines how wastewater treatment plants serve as key pathways for microplastic entry into the environment, analyzing removal efficiencies across different treatment stages and identifying advanced technologies for improved microplastic remediation.

2022 Environmental Technology & Innovation 159 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Microplastic Pollution through Waste Water Treatment: A Review

This review examines how wastewater treatment plants reduce microplastic contamination, comparing biological and advanced treatment methods and highlighting that residual microplastics in sewage sludge applied to agricultural land remain a significant pathway for environmental release.

2022 Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Biotechnology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances on microplastics pollution and removal from wastewater systems: A critical review

This review summarizes the latest research on microplastic detection, occurrence, and removal in wastewater treatment plants. While treatment plants can remove 57-99% of microplastics depending on the stage, significant amounts still escape into the environment through treated water and sludge. The findings highlight the need for advanced treatment methods to prevent microplastics from reaching waterways and ultimately human water supplies.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in treatment of microplastics in wastewater

This review examines current methods for removing microplastics from wastewater, including conventional treatment processes and newer advanced techniques. Researchers found that while standard treatment plants can remove a significant portion of microplastics, many particles still pass through into waterways, and the captured plastics often end up concentrated in sewage sludge. The study highlights the need for improved treatment technologies to more effectively address microplastic contamination in water systems.

2024 IWA Publishing eBooks 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effectiveness of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants in microplastics removal: Insights from multiple analytical techniques

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants in removing microplastics across multiple treatment stages, finding removal efficiencies of 70–90% but documenting that billions of particles still pass through in final effluent daily.

2025 Journal of Environmental Sciences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Conventional and Advanced Treatment Technologies for Microplastics in Water Treatment Facilities

This review evaluated both conventional and advanced water treatment methods for removing microplastics from wastewater. Researchers found that while techniques like coagulation, filtration, and membrane bioreactors can remove most microplastics, treatment plants still release significant quantities due to the sheer volume of water processed, and microplastic-laden sludge applied to farmland creates another pathway for environmental contamination.

2024 Preprints.org 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastic particles during municipal wastewater treatment: A current review

This review examines how effectively municipal wastewater treatment plants remove microplastics before discharging water into the environment. Researchers found that while advanced treatment can remove over 98% of microplastics, large facilities may still release billions of particles daily, especially nanoplastics smaller than 1 micrometer that are harder to capture. The study suggests that additional purification steps and improved existing processes are needed to better protect waterways from microplastic contamination.

2024 Desalination and Water Treatment 24 citations
Review Tier 2

The Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plants on Retainment of Plastic Microparticles to Enhance Water Quality—A Review

This review examined how well wastewater treatment plants remove microplastics, finding that most conventional systems achieve high removal rates but still discharge significant plastic quantities in treated effluent and sludge. Improving treatment efficiency and preventing sludge application to farmland are key strategies for reducing microplastic release.

2021 Journal of Environmental Protection 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Sources, properties, removal efficiency, removal mechanisms, and interactions with pollutants

This review examines microplastic sources, properties, removal efficiency, and removal mechanisms across different wastewater treatment plant stages. Researchers found that while treatment plants remove a significant portion of microplastics, they cannot eliminate them entirely, resulting in the continued release of millions of particles into the environment daily through effluent and sludge.

2023 Water Science & Technology 128 citations
Review Tier 2

Removing microplastics from wastewater using leading-edge treatment technologies: a solution to microplastic pollution—a review

This review examined leading-edge treatment technologies for removing microplastics from wastewater, as treatment plants are a major pathway for microplastics entering the environment. Researchers evaluated various advanced treatment methods including membrane filtration, advanced oxidation, and electrocoagulation for their microplastic removal efficiency. The study suggests that combining multiple treatment approaches may be necessary to effectively reduce microplastic discharge from wastewater systems.

2022 Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics from wastewater: available techniques and way forward

This review surveys the available techniques for removing microplastics from wastewater, including filtration, coagulation, biological treatment, and advanced methods like membrane bioreactors. Researchers found that while conventional treatment plants can remove a substantial fraction of microplastics, significant amounts still pass through to the environment. The study emphasizes the need for upgrading wastewater treatment systems to better capture these emerging contaminants.

2021 Water Science & Technology 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Characteristics, Occurrence and Removal Technologies

This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants are a major pathway for microplastics entering the environment, covering the types, sizes, and sources of microplastics found in wastewater. While treatment plants can remove many microplastics, significant amounts still escape into rivers and oceans through treated water and sludge. The authors evaluate various removal technologies and recommend advanced treatment methods to better prevent microplastics from reaching water supplies.

2024 Water 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Eradication of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment: Overview

This review examined technologies for removing microplastics from wastewater, evaluating physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods and finding that while conventional treatment plants capture a significant fraction, emerging technologies like membrane filtration and coagulation are needed to achieve more complete removal.

2022 Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of wastewater treatment process on pollution characteristics and fate of microplastics

Researchers investigated microplastic abundance and removal efficiency across four wastewater treatment plants using different treatment technologies, finding influent concentrations between 539 and 1,290 particles per liter that were reduced substantially by primary and secondary treatment. Smaller microplastic particles proved hardest to remove and most likely to persist in final effluent.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics removal in wastewater treatment plants: a critical review

This critical review of microplastic removal in wastewater treatment plants examines removal efficiencies across different treatment stages, finding that while WWTPs remove the majority of microplastics from influent, they still release millions of particles daily and are a major pathway for microplastics entering aquatic environments.

2020 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 398 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic removal and management strategies for wastewater treatment plants

This review examines how well different wastewater treatment technologies remove microplastics and what management strategies can improve performance. While conventional treatment plants can remove a large percentage of microplastics from water, the particles often end up concentrated in sewage sludge that gets applied to farmland. The study highlights the need for advanced treatment options and better management of biosolids to prevent microplastics from simply being transferred from water to soil.

2023 Chemosphere 133 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovative technologies for removal of micro plastic: A review of recent advances

Researchers reviewed emerging technologies for removing microplastics from wastewater, covering filtration, coagulation, biological treatment, and other methods used at treatment plants. The review highlights which approaches show the most promise and calls for broader adoption and improved standardization so that microplastics are more consistently captured before they reach rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2024 Heliyon 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection and removal of microplastics in wastewater: evolution and impact

This review covers methods for detecting and removing microplastics from wastewater, which is a major pathway for microplastics to enter the environment. Microplastics in water can carry heavy metals, disease-causing organisms, and chemical additives, and are eventually consumed by aquatic life that enters the human food chain. The authors emphasize that better wastewater treatment technology is needed to reduce human exposure to microplastics through water and seafood.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 257 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics removal mechanisms in wastewater treatment plants: A review

This review examines how conventional wastewater treatment plants remove micro- and nanoplastics, and evaluates advanced technologies like membrane filtration and electrocoagulation that could improve removal rates. While existing treatment plants can capture most microplastics, they still release significant quantities into waterways through their enormous discharge volumes. The study highlights that biological treatment steps may also transform microplastics in potentially harmful ways that need further investigation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Solutions to microplastic pollution – Removal of microplastics from wastewater effluent with advanced wastewater treatment technologies

This study reviewed solutions for removing microplastics from wastewater effluents, comparing physical, chemical, and biological treatment approaches and identifying the most promising technologies for preventing microplastic discharge into receiving waters.

2017 Water Research 1450 citations
Article Tier 2

Reuse of Water Contaminated by Microplastics, the Effectiveness of Filtration Processes: A Review

This review evaluates filtration technologies for removing microplastics from water, finding that while treatment plants reduce microplastic counts effectively, large discharge volumes still release substantial quantities into the environment.

2022 Energies 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics from wastewater for world water pool protection

This review examines existing techniques for removing microplastics from treated wastewater before it is released into natural water bodies, noting that standard treatment plants only remove 83–98% of microplastics — still leaving billions of particles entering ecosystems daily. Advanced options like membrane bioreactors and biosorbents made from agricultural waste show promise but remain costly to scale.

2023 Scientific Works of National University of Food Technologies 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater Treatment Approaches to Remove Microplastics

This review summarizes current approaches for removing microplastics from wastewater, noting that treatment plants capture many particles but are not fully effective — particularly for small fibers from laundry. Improving wastewater treatment efficiency is a key strategy for reducing the microplastic loads entering rivers and oceans.

2022 6 citations