Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Hydrothermal carbonization of plastic waste: A review of its potential in alternative energy applications

Researchers reviewed how hydrothermal carbonization — a process that converts materials into a coal-like substance using heat and water under pressure — can transform plastic waste into useful products like solid fuels, catalysts, and materials for energy storage devices. While the technology is promising, challenges like variable plastic feedstock quality and scaling up production must be addressed before widespread commercial use.

2023 Fuel Communications 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic waste management for sustainable environment: techniques and approaches

Researchers reviewed current plastic waste removal techniques — including adsorption, photocatalysis, and microbial degradation — and alternative resource recovery strategies, evaluating their efficiency, underlying mechanisms, and potential for converting plastic waste into adsorbents, fuels, or construction materials.

2023 Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy 131 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Technologies for Waste Plastic Treatment

This review surveyed emerging technologies for waste plastic treatment including chemical recycling, pyrolysis, biodegradation, and catalytic conversion, evaluating their potential to address the growing plastic pollution crisis more effectively than conventional methods.

2023 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in biochar-mediated mitigation of microplastics: A comprehensive review on removal mechanisms, toxicity alleviation strategies, and synergistic environmental impacts

Researchers comprehensively reviewed recent advances in using biochar to mitigate microplastic pollution, including removal mechanisms, toxicity alleviation strategies, and synergistic environmental impacts. The study found that biochar is a promising candidate for microplastic removal and toxicity reduction due to its high specific surface area and adsorptive properties.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Recycling Carbon Resources from Waste PET to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emission: Carbonization Technology Review and Perspective

This review summarized carbonization technologies for converting waste PET plastic into valuable carbon materials, offering a strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while recycling plastic resources in alignment with carbon neutrality goals.

2023 JOURNAL OF RENEWABLE MATERIALS 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon materials derived from single-use plastics (SUPs) and their applications in pollution mitigation: Challenges and perspectives

This review examines strategies for converting single-use plastic waste into value-added carbon-based materials through thermal, chemical, and catalytic transformation techniques including pyrolysis, carbonization, and chemical activation. The authors assess how these approaches address microplastic contamination risks while contributing to circular economy frameworks by repurposing non-degradable plastic residues.

2025 Environmental Surfaces and Interfaces
Article Tier 2

Valorization of plastic waste via chemical activation and carbonization into activated carbon for functional material applications

This review examines how waste plastics can be transformed into activated carbon through chemical activation and carbonization processes. Researchers analyzed various methods for converting different plastic types into porous carbon materials with practical applications. The findings suggest that turning plastic waste into activated carbon offers a valuable alternative to traditional disposal methods.

2024 RSC Applied Polymers 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Addressing the Microplastic Dilemma in Soil and Sediment with Focus on Biochar-Based Remediation Techniques: Review

This review examines how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be used to remediate microplastic-contaminated soils and sediments. Researchers found that biochar can adsorb microplastics and reduce their mobility, while also improving overall soil health and microbial activity. The study highlights biochar-based approaches as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy for addressing microplastic pollution in terrestrial environments.

2023 Soil Systems 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into using plastic waste to produce activated carbons for wastewater treatment applications: A review

This review explores the potential of converting plastic waste into activated carbon, a material widely used to filter pollutants from water. Researchers found that various plastics including polyethylene, polystyrene, and PET can be transformed into effective adsorbents through controlled heating processes. The approach offers a promising way to simultaneously address plastic waste accumulation and water pollution challenges.

2024 Journal of Water Process Engineering 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Degradation in Sewage Sludge by Hydrothermal Carbonization: Efficiency and Mechanisms

Researchers evaluated hydrothermal carbonization as a method for degrading microplastics in sewage sludge. The study found that treatment at 260 degrees Celsius achieved a 79% reduction in microplastic concentrations, and investigated the decomposition mechanisms for different polymer types. The findings suggest that hydrothermal carbonization could be an effective approach for removing microplastics from sewage sludge before environmental disposal.

2022 Chemosphere 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-based adsorption technologies for microplastic remediation in aquatic ecosystems

This review examines the use of biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, as a tool for removing microplastics from water. Biochar can effectively adsorb microplastic particles due to its porous structure and surface chemistry, and it can be produced cheaply from agricultural waste. The technology shows promise as an affordable and sustainable approach to reducing microplastic contamination in waterways, though challenges remain in scaling it up for real-world water treatment.

2025 AIP Advances 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Sludge-derived biochar: Physicochemical characteristics for environmental remediation

This review examines how sewage sludge can be converted into biochar, a carbon-rich material useful for cleaning up environmental contaminants including microplastics and heavy metals from water and soil. The process turns a waste product into an effective pollution filter while reducing the volume of sludge that needs disposal. This approach is relevant to microplastics research because biochar could help remove plastic particles from contaminated water and agricultural land.

2023 Applied Physics Reviews 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Upcycling of waste plastics: strategies, status-quo, and prospects

This review examines strategies for upcycling waste plastics into valuable products as an alternative to landfilling and incineration, which generate microplastics and carbon emissions respectively. Researchers survey chemical recycling methods including pyrolysis, gasification, and catalytic processes that can convert common plastics like PET, polyethylene, and polystyrene into fuels, chemicals, and new materials. The study highlights the urgent need for more effective recycling technologies to address the growing gap between plastic production and waste management capacity.

2024 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Upcycling Plastic Waste into High Value‐Added Carbonaceous Materials

This review examines methods for converting plastic waste into high-value carbonaceous materials through upcycling techniques. Researchers surveyed approaches for transforming discarded plastics into products such as carbon fibres, water purification absorbents, and energy storage electrodes. The study suggests that upcycling plastic waste into carbon-based materials offers a practical alternative to conventional disposal methods like landfilling and incineration.

2021 Macromolecular Rapid Communications 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Are Reliable and Emerging Technologies Available for Plastic Recycling in a Circular Economy?

This review examines the current landscape of plastic recycling technologies -- including mechanical, thermal, chemical, and biological depolymerization methods such as pyrolysis -- evaluating their readiness for circular economy integration. It concludes that while recycling rates remain below 10% globally, emerging technologies offer pathways toward closed-loop plastic supply chains, though full-scale implementation requires further development and performance assessment.

2022 IntechOpen eBooks 2 citations
Review Tier 2

Advancing modified biochar for sustainable agriculture: a comprehensive review on characterization, analysis, and soil performance

This review covers how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be modified to improve soil health and crop growth. While not directly about microplastics, modified biochar has been studied as a potential tool for absorbing and immobilizing microplastics in contaminated soil. Understanding how to optimize biochar properties could help develop strategies for reducing microplastic uptake by food crops.

2025 Biochar 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Mini-review on remediation of plastic pollution through photoreforming: progress, possibilities, and challenges.

This mini-review examines photoreforming — a solar-powered process that converts plastic waste into valuable chemicals and hydrogen fuel — as a promising approach to reducing plastic pollution while generating clean energy. The authors review progress in the technology, assess remaining challenges such as efficiency and scalability, and place it in the context of other plastic waste remediation strategies.

2023 Environmental science and pollution research international
Article Tier 2

Perspectives on sustainable plastic treatment: A shift from linear to circular economy

This review examines emerging technologies for converting plastic waste into useful chemicals and fuels, including methods like pyrolysis, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis. Researchers highlight how these approaches could shift plastic management from a throw-away model to a circular economy where waste becomes a resource. The study identifies remaining knowledge gaps and proposes future research directions for sustainable plastic treatment.

2024 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Recovery and Conversion Pathways: The Most Recent Advancements in Technologies for the Generation of Renewable Energy

This review examines current technologies for recovering energy from microplastics, evaluating pyrolysis, gasification, electrochemical methods, and hybrid biomass-based approaches in terms of energy balance, carbon conversion, product composition, process efficiency, and scalability. The authors found pyrolysis to be the most scalable method, producing valuable oils and gases, but highlighted that all reviewed technologies face challenges handling the heterogeneous composition and small particle sizes characteristic of MP feedstocks.

2025 Energies
Article Tier 2

Trends in the applications of biochar for the abatement of microplastics in water

This review examines how biochar can be used to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water, summarizing recent advances in biochar modification strategies that improve adsorption capacity and minimize secondary pollution risks.

2025 Bioresource Technology Reports
Article Tier 2

Removal of micro- and nano-plastics from aqueous matrices using modified biochar – A review of synthesis, applications, interaction, and regeneration

This review examines how modified biochar materials can be used to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. Researchers found that chemical functionalization and nanoparticle integration of biochar significantly improve its ability to capture plastic particles through mechanisms like electrostatic interaction and physical adsorption. The study also highlights challenges in regenerating used biochar for sustainable reuse in water treatment applications.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 13 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review of recycling and reusing methods for plastic waste focusing Indian scenario

This comprehensive review examines global plastic waste management strategies with a focus on India, covering technologies from mechanical reprocessing and pyrolysis to advanced methods like supercritical water conversion and plasma-assisted processing. Researchers evaluated the scalability, limitations, and environmental trade-offs of each approach, noting persistent challenges with microplastic pollution. The study draws on patents and case studies to highlight practical pathways for improving plastic recycling and reducing environmental contamination.

2025 Waste Management & Research The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar applications in microplastic and nanoplastic removal: mechanisms and integrated approaches

This review explores how biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste, can be used to filter microplastics and nanoplastics out of water. Researchers found that biochar works through several mechanisms and becomes even more effective when combined with other water treatment technologies. The study suggests biochar-based approaches could be a practical, low-cost strategy for tackling plastic pollution in water systems.

2024 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Applications of biochar in the remediation of soil microplastic pollution: A review

Researchers reviewed the use of biochar as a tool for remediating microplastic-contaminated soil. The study found that biochar application shows promise for addressing soil microplastic pollution by altering soil properties in ways that can reduce microplastic mobility and mitigate their negative effects on soil structure, plant growth, and biogeochemical cycling.

2025 Soil Science Society of America Journal 1 citations