Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Developments in the Application of Nanomaterials for Water Treatment and Their Impact on the Environment

This review covers the application of nanomaterials for water treatment and remediation, evaluating how nanomaterial properties enable removal of pollutants including heavy metals, organic contaminants, and microplastics. It surveys the current state of research and discusses practical challenges for scaling up nanomaterial-based water treatment.

2020 Nanomaterials 196 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetic nanocomposites: innovative adsorbents for antibiotics removal from aqueous environments–a narrative review

This review examines how magnetic nanocomposite materials can be used to remove pharmaceutical pollutants from water. While not directly about microplastics, the technology is relevant because microplastics in water often carry pharmaceutical residues that conventional treatment cannot fully remove. Better water filtration methods like these could help reduce human exposure to the cocktail of pollutants that microplastics transport.

2025 Applied Water Science 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Antibiotics by Biochars: A Critical Review

This review analyzes how biochars, which are carbon-rich materials made from organic waste, can remove antibiotics from water. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because both antibiotics and microplastics are emerging water contaminants, and microplastics can carry antibiotic residues that promote drug-resistant bacteria. Better water treatment methods that address multiple contaminants could help reduce human exposure to both pollutants.

2023 Applied Sciences 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Heavy Metals: Mechanisms, Kinetics, and Applications of Various Adsorbents in Wastewater Remediation—A Review

This review summarizes how different materials like activated carbon, agricultural waste, and nanomaterials can filter heavy metals out of contaminated water. Since microplastics in water can carry and concentrate heavy metals, improving water treatment is important for reducing human exposure to these combined pollutants.

2023 Waste 359 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced Nanotechnology in Wastewater Treatment: Investigating the Role of Nanoparticles in Pollutant Removal, Water Recovery, and Environmental Sustainability

This review examines how nanotechnology-based approaches — including nanoparticle adsorbents, nanofiltration membranes, and photocatalysts — can address persistent water pollutants including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and heavy metals more effectively than conventional treatment methods.

2025 Scholars Journal of Engineering and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Function of nanomaterials in the treatment of emerging pollutants in wastewater

Researchers reviewed the application of nanomaterials for treating emerging pollutants in wastewater, including microplastics, antibiotics, and endocrine disruptors. The study suggests that nanotechnology-based approaches offer promising advantages over conventional treatment methods in terms of efficiency and sustainability for addressing new types of water contaminants.

2024 IWA Publishing eBooks 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced Carbon Nanoparticle-Based Filtration Systems for Water Disinfection and Microplastics Removal

This study proposes a carbon nanoparticle-infused membrane filter (NP-WFS) as a combined solution for removing both microplastics and microbial contaminants from drinking water. Laboratory tests showed the membrane captured microplastic particles and microorganisms, suggesting that nanoparticle-based filtration could offer a practical improvement over conventional water treatment where microplastics currently pass through.

2023 MIGRATION LETTERS 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for the Removal of Emerging Contaminants from Water: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

This review examines nanotechnology-based approaches for removing emerging contaminants including pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics from water, comparing the removal efficiencies of nanomaterial adsorbents, photocatalysts, and membrane systems against conventional treatment methods.

2025 Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based adsorbents for micro/nano-plastics removal: current advances and perspectives

Scientists reviewed how carbon-based materials like graphene, activated carbon, and carbon nanotubes can be used to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. Researchers found that these adsorbents show strong potential for capturing tiny plastic particles thanks to their tunable surface properties and high surface area. The study suggests that carbon-based filtration could become an important technology for cleaning microplastic-contaminated water.

2024 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Contaminants and Their Removal from Aqueous Media Using Conventional/Non-Conventional Adsorbents: A Glance at the Relationship between Materials, Processes, and Technologies

This review covers various methods for removing emerging contaminants, including microplastics, from water using materials that absorb pollutants. Activated carbon remains the most effective option, but researchers are also developing cheaper alternatives from agricultural waste and nanomaterials. The work is important because better water treatment methods could reduce human exposure to microplastics and other harmful substances in drinking water.

2023 Water 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging micropollutants in aquatic ecosystems and nanotechnology-based removal alternatives: A review

This review examines emerging micropollutants in water systems, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and heavy metals, and how nanotechnology-based approaches can help remove them. These contaminants threaten drinking water safety and aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The paper evaluates various nanomaterial-based filtration and degradation methods as promising solutions for cleaning up contaminated water.

2023 Chemosphere 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Lifecycle, toxicology, and exposure pathways of functional nanomaterials in water treatment: Implications for environmental and human Health

This review examines the full lifecycle of functional nanomaterials used in water treatment, from their effectiveness at removing pollutants like pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and microplastics to the environmental and health risks they may pose after use. Researchers found that while these materials show strong performance, their long-term fate in the environment and potential toxicity remain insufficiently studied. The study emphasizes the need for lifecycle-based risk assessments before deploying nanomaterials at scale in water treatment systems.

2025 Sustainable Environment 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent developments in microplastic contaminated water treatment: Progress and prospects of carbon-based two-dimensional materials for membranes separation

This review assessed recent advances in microplastic removal from contaminated water, covering physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods and their effectiveness across different plastic sizes, polymer types, and water chemistries. The authors identify membrane filtration and coagulation as among the most promising scalable approaches.

2022 Chemosphere 56 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of the Current Research Status of Graphene for the Removal of Microplastics and Antibiotics from Water

This review assesses the potential of graphene-based materials for microplastic removal from water, evaluating adsorption mechanisms, removal efficiency across particle sizes, and scalability challenges for water treatment applications.

2024 International Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based composites for removal of pharmaceutical components from water

This review examines how carbon-based materials — including activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene — effectively remove pharmaceutical pollutants from water, highlighting their promise for addressing drug contamination in aquatic environments.

2022 Journal of Composites and Compounds 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon-Based Adsorbents for Microplastic Removal from Wastewater

This review examines how carbon-based materials like biochar, activated carbon, and carbon nanotubes can filter microplastics out of wastewater. Modified versions of these materials showed high removal rates, suggesting they could help reduce the amount of microplastics that reach drinking water sources and, ultimately, the human body.

2024 Materials 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of heavy metal onto biomass-derived activated carbon: review

This review summarizes how activated carbon made from plant-based materials can be used to remove heavy metals from polluted water. Since microplastics in water often carry and concentrate heavy metals on their surface, improving our ability to filter these combined contaminants is important for protecting drinking water and human health.

2023 RSC Advances 272 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanophotocatalytic synergistic degradation of antibiotics and microplastics: Mechanisms, material design, and environmental applications

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in water during photocatalytic treatment, finding that microplastics can both help (by shuttling electrons) and hinder (by shielding light or hosting biofilms) the degradation process, depending on conditions. Aged microplastics — which have more surface oxygen groups — adsorb more antibiotics, making them tougher composite targets for treatment systems. Understanding these interactions is essential for designing water purification systems that can handle the combined pollution reality of modern waterways.

2026 Environmental Technology & Innovation
Article Tier 2

Nano/microplastics: Fragmentation, interaction with co-existing pollutants and their removal from wastewater using membrane processes

This review explores how nano- and microplastics fragment from larger plastic debris and interact with other pollutants like heavy metals and pharmaceuticals in water environments. Researchers examined how these tiny particles can adsorb hazardous substances onto their surfaces, potentially increasing health risks for humans and aquatic organisms. The study also evaluates membrane-based filtration technologies as promising methods for removing these combined contaminants from wastewater.

2022 Chemosphere 86 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence of Micropollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Technologies for Their Removal

This review summarizes the growing problem of micropollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, and evaluates advanced treatment methods to remove them. The research is important for human health because conventional water treatment plants cannot effectively filter out these contaminants, meaning people may be regularly exposed through tap water.

2025 Processes 14 citations