Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Water reuse: a pillar of the circular water economy

This review argues that water reuse is a foundational pillar of the circular water economy, shifting the paradigm from dissipative pollutant removal toward resource recovery and closed-loop water management. The authors examine how conventional wastewater treatment approaches must be reimagined to enable sustainable water circularity.

2022 IWA Publishing eBooks 7 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of grey water footprint in urban wastewater management: from pollution to reuse

This study evaluated grey water footprint as a qualitative indicator of wastewater impact using eight years of real data from a municipal treatment plant and its receiving water body, demonstrating its utility for tracking wastewater management effectiveness over time.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater and sludge valorisation: a novel approach for treatment and resource recovery to achieve circular economy concept

This review highlights novel approaches for wastewater and sludge valorisation within a circular economy framework, focusing on recovering value-added products including biopolymers, nutrients, and energy to achieve sustainable development goals and combat water scarcity.

2023 Frontiers in Chemical Engineering 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Circular Economy in Wastewater Treatment Plant—Water, Energy and Raw Materials Recovery

This review proposes a conceptual framework for future wastewater treatment plants operating as resource recovery facilities within a circular economy, focusing on technologies for recovering water, energy, and raw materials including nutrients and biopolymers.

2023 Energies 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Urbanization and the Emerging Water Crisis: Identifying Water Scarcity and Environmental Risk with Multiple Applications in Urban Agglomerations in Western China

Researchers developed a comprehensive index system to evaluate water scarcity and environmental risk across three major urban regions in Western China. They found that rapid urbanization has significantly worsened water resource shortages and ecological vulnerability in these areas. The study provides a framework for understanding how urban growth intensifies water stress and suggests approaches for sustainable water resource management.

2023 Sustainability 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Pollutants in Wastewater: A Challenge for Water Reuse

This review examines emerging pollutants in wastewater as a central challenge for water reuse strategies, covering contaminants present at both domestic and industrial scales. It evaluates the sustainability benefits and treatment hurdles associated with recycling wastewater to address global water scarcity.

2025 Advances in water security
Article Tier 2

Towards Adaptive Water Quality Indexing: Integrating Fuzzy Logic for Improved Contaminant Detection and Treatment Planning

This study proposed integrating fuzzy logic into water quality index calculations to better handle the uncertainty and compounding effects of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and personal care products that conventional water quality indices were not designed to assess.

2025 Proceedings of the International Conference of Recent Trends in Environmental Science and Engineering
Article Tier 2

Integrated Approaches to Water Quality Assessment and Treatment: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review integrates physical, chemical, and biological water quality parameters, examines major pollution sources including emerging contaminants like microplastics, and surveys advances in real-time IoT-enabled monitoring and integrated treatment approaches.

2025 Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology
Article Tier 2

Measuring Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Water Resource Recovery Facilities Workshop Report

Researchers convened a workshop bringing together water utilities, national laboratories, and government agencies to identify challenges and opportunities in measuring life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from water resource recovery facilities.

2024
Article Tier 2

A Methodology for Industrial Water Footprint Assessment Using Energy-Water-Carbon Nexus

Researchers developed a methodology using the energy-water-carbon nexus to assess industrial water footprints, applying it to Irish milk and beer production facilities to quantify the carbon emissions associated with industrial water consumption and treatment.

2021 Processes 31 citations
Article Tier 2

AI Applied to the Circular Economy: An Approach in the Wastewater Sector

This review explored how artificial intelligence can be applied to circular economy objectives in the wastewater sector, examining AI-driven approaches for optimizing water treatment, resource recovery, and system efficiency. The paper identified opportunities and challenges for integrating machine learning into water utility operations within an ecological transition framework.

2024 Sustainability 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel Quantitative Evaluation of Biotreatment Suitability of Wastewater

This study developed a new framework for evaluating how suitable wastewater is for biological treatment, going beyond standard water quality indicators. Better assessment tools could improve wastewater treatment efficiency and reduce pollutant discharges, including microplastics.

2022 Water 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics from wastewater: available techniques and way forward

This review surveys available techniques for removing microplastics from wastewater within a circular economy framework, discussing innovative treatment technologies, integrated risk-based approaches, and regulatory and economic guidelines needed to advance water resource recovery facilities beyond conventional pollutant removal.

2023 IWA Publishing eBooks 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into Global Water Reuse Opportunities

This review examines global opportunities and challenges for reusing treated wastewater, which is becoming increasingly important as water scarcity worsens worldwide. A key concern discussed is that recycled water may contain emerging contaminants including microplastics that current treatment methods do not fully remove. The findings highlight the need for advanced treatment technologies to ensure that water reuse does not become a pathway for microplastic exposure in communities.

2023 Sustainability 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Benefits and limitations of recycled water systems in the building sector: a review

Researchers reviewed the benefits and challenges of recycling greywater (lightly used household water) in buildings, finding it can improve concrete workability by 12–14% and reduce strain on freshwater supplies. While promising for sustainability, widespread adoption is held back by dual-pipe infrastructure costs, water quality concerns, and gaps in regulation.

2024 Environmental Chemistry Letters 39 citations
Article Tier 2

More Than a Numbers Game: Accounting for Circular Economy Performance in Collaborative initiatives in Cities

This PhD thesis examines how circular economy performance is managed and accounted for within cross-sector collaborative initiatives in cities, exploring how diverse stakeholders with conflicting interests navigate shared goals for sustainability and resource decoupling.

2024
Article Tier 2

Puebla City Water Supply from the Perspective of Urban Water Metabolism

This paper is not about microplastics — it analyzes water supply management and the human right to water in Puebla, Mexico, using urban water metabolism accounting.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Multiple approach for assessing lagoon environmental status based on water bodies quality indices and microplastics accumulation

Researchers assessed lagoon environmental status using water quality indices and microplastic accumulation measurements, finding that combining these multiple approaches provides a more comprehensive evaluation of lagoon ecosystem health than single metrics alone.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive analysis of evolution and underlying connections of water research themes in the 21st century

Researchers conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of articles published in Water Research over the first 21.5 years of the 21st century to map evolving water research themes and their interconnections. The analysis identified stable core topics such as wastewater treatment and adsorption alongside emerging trends, providing a systematic overview of advances in water science and policy.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Unlocking the Potential of Reclaimed Water: Analysis of the Challenges and Market Size as a Strategic Solution for Water Scarcity in Europe

This study examines the market potential and challenges for reclaimed water as a solution to water scarcity in Europe, assessing regulatory frameworks, treatment technology gaps, and reuse applications. It identifies microplastics and pharmaceuticals as key contaminants of concern in reclaimed water and discusses standardisation needs.

2025 Challenges
Article Tier 2

Beyond the Surface: A Critical Analysis of Corporate Water Accounting Literature for Sustainable Development

This systematic review analysed 47 articles on corporate water accounting using bibliometric and content analysis, finding the field remains in early stages with geographically concentrated research and proposing an integrative framework to address thematic drivers and barriers to sustainable water management.

2025 Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Transforming Pollution into Purity: Ensuring Water Quality for Human Health and Environmental Sustainability

This review examines global threats to water quality from contaminants including microplastics, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals, and their consequences for human health and ecosystems. The authors advocate for a comprehensive strategy combining source protection, advanced treatment technologies like constructed wetlands and advanced oxidation, and robust governance to ensure safe water access.

2026
Article Tier 2

Shared Automatic Drinking Water Treatment and Dispensing Systems and Methods of Their Optimization

This paper is not about microplastics — it evaluates water quality and operational performance of shared automatic water vending machines, proposing optimization strategies.

2023 WATER AND WATER PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL NEWS 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater Valorization: Practice around the World at Pilot- and Full-Scale

This review summarizes pilot- and full-scale wastewater valorization practices globally, focusing on how water resource recovery facilities recover nutrients, energy, and bio-based materials from sewage and sludge to contribute to a circular economy. The authors identify effective technological strategies that are being implemented or scaled up worldwide.

2021 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 33 citations