Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The mitigation of the ghost nets threat by recycling of polypropylene: Blends, their ageing tests and spectral characterization

Researchers developed a method to recycle polypropylene plastic from abandoned fishing nets — a major source of ocean microplastics — by blending recycled fibers with fresh plastic and testing the resulting material in simulated seawater. The recycled blends held up as well as new plastic, suggesting ghost net recycling is a practical strategy to reduce marine microplastic pollution.

2025 Cleaner Water 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycling Approach of Marine Plastic Litter: Highly Filled Composites Obtained by Loading Waste Fishing Nets Fiber into Fluidified Recycled Polystyrene and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

This study explores recycling waste fishing nets by embedding their fibers into recycled polystyrene and ABS plastics to create highly filled composite materials. The approach offers a pathway to reduce marine plastic litter from abandoned fishing gear while producing useful recycled material.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges and Opportunities for Recycled Polyethylene Fishing Nets: Towards a Circular Economy

Researchers examined the challenges of recycling polyethylene from discarded fishing nets, finding that contaminants and degradation during the nets' service life significantly reduce the mechanical properties of recycled resins. The study explores strategies to improve recycled fishing net polyethylene quality and advance circular economy approaches for marine plastic waste.

2021 Polymers 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on PET Recovery from Polymeric Mixtures, Using the Floatation Technique, and Valorization of the Collected Particles by Dyeing Them

Researchers developed and tested a flotation-based process to separate PET plastic flakes from mixed polymer waste, then tested whether the recovered PET could be dyed for reuse as textile fiber. Improving the purity and value of recycled PET reduces the amount of plastic that ends up in environments where it fragments into microplastics.

2023 Fibers and Polymers 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Optimization of Asphalt Concrete Performance Using Waste Plastic Bottles (WPB) as a Sustainable Bitumen Modifier: A Comprehensive Rheological and Mechanical Assessment

Not relevant to microplastics — this study evaluates waste plastic bottles as a bitumen modifier to improve asphalt road performance, testing mechanical and thermal properties; it addresses plastic reuse in construction rather than environmental microplastic pollution.

2026 American Journal of Civil Engineering
Article Tier 2

Special Packaging Materials from Recycled PET and Metallic Nano-Powders

This study examines how recycled PET and polyolefin plastics reinforced with aluminum and iron nanopowders behave structurally, using microscopy and thermal analysis to characterize the composites. It is marginally relevant to microplastics in that it explores recycling pathways for packaging plastics that would otherwise degrade into environmental microplastic pollution.

2023 Polymers 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Hybrid FRP Composite Produced from Recycled PET and CFRP

This paper is not about microplastics — it characterizes the mechanical properties of recycled carbon fiber composites made with PET plastic waste for structural applications.

2023 Polymers 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Discarded Nylon Fishing Nets as Fibre Reinforcement in Cement Mortar

Nylon fibers from discarded fishing nets were tested as reinforcement material for concrete, finding they could improve cement strength. Repurposing fishing net waste, which is a significant source of ocean plastic pollution, could reduce the environmental burden of discarded nets.

2018 WIT transactions on ecology and the environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Performances of Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Bottles Waste as Supporting Media in Domestic Wastewater Treatment Using Aerobic Fixed-Film System

Not a microplastics paper — this study repurposes shredded PET plastic bottles as a structural support media (not as a pollutant) inside a wastewater treatment system, finding it effectively removes organic matter and nutrients from domestic wastewater.

2023 Journal of Ecological Engineering 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel Treatment to Immobilize and Use Textiles Microfibers Retained in Polymeric Filters through Their Incorporation in Composite Materials

Researchers developed a novel method to immobilize textile microfibers captured in polymeric washing machine filters by incorporating them into composite polymer matrices, transforming a waste microplastic stream into a potentially reusable construction or industrial material rather than releasing it to the environment.

2022 Polymers 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Renforcement local de pièces plastiques recyclées des fibres continues pour des applications structurales à faible impact en C02/kg

Researchers compared three processing methods — thermocompression, injection overmolding, and automated fiber placement — for locally reinforcing recycled polyamide 6 parts from fishing nets with continuous PA6-GF fiber ribbons, assessing mechanical properties and microstructural differences to support low-carbon structural applications.

2025 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Investigation of physical properties of microalgae‐pectin‐based bio‐composite with addition of pine needle for environmental application

This paper is not directly about microplastics — it investigates the physical properties of a bio-composite material made from microalgae, pectin, and pine needles as a potential alternative to petroleum-based plastics, without studying microplastic pollution or environmental impacts.

2024 Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Polymers Recycling: Upcycling Techniques. an Overview

This paper is not about microplastics in a research sense; it is an overview of polymer recycling and upcycling techniques, mentioning microplastic accumulation briefly as motivation but not investigating microplastics directly.

2023 Journal of the Chilean Chemical Society 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Progress of Recycled Polyester in Rheological Performance in Molding, and Economic Analysis of Recycled Fibers in Fashion and Textile Industry

This review examined the recycling performance of polyester fibers and assessed the economic viability of recycled polyester in the fashion and textile industry. Recycled polyester from PET bottles and textile waste showed acceptable rheological properties for fiber production. Expanding recycled polyester use in fashion reduces the need for virgin plastic and addresses the textile industry's substantial microplastic pollution footprint.

2022 IntechOpen eBooks 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced Plastic Waste Recycling—The Effect of Clay on the Morphological and Thermal Behavior of Recycled PET/PLA Sustainable Blends

Researchers prepared blends of recycled PET and bio-based polylactic acid (PLA) with clay additives, finding that clay incorporation affects the morphological and thermal properties of the mixed plastic, with implications for improving PET/PLA recycling compatibility.

2023 Polymers 17 citations
Article Tier 2

The Effect of Elastomer Content and Annealing on the Physical Properties of Upcycled Polyethylene Terephthalate-Maleated Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene Blends for Additive Manufacturing

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it investigates the mechanical and rheological properties of recycled PET blended with a thermoplastic elastomer for use in 3D printing filaments, focusing on material performance rather than microplastic environmental impacts.

2024 Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental and Cost Advantages of Using Polyethylene Terephthalate Fibre Reinforced Concrete with Fly Ash as a Partial Cement Replacement

This study examined the environmental and cost benefits of using recycled PET plastic bottles as fiber reinforcement in concrete, combined with fly ash as a partial cement replacement. Repurposing plastic waste in construction materials could help reduce the volume of plastic entering the environment as microplastics.

2019 Open Journal of Civil Engineering 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Upcycling of HDPE Milk Bottles into High-Stiffness, High-HDT Composites with Pineapple Leaf Waste Materials

Not relevant to microplastics — this study explores recycling used HDPE milk bottles into reinforced plastic composites using pineapple leaf fiber waste, focused on materials engineering rather than pollution.

2023 Polymers 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the structural performance of waste PET-infused interlocking units versus traditional stone masonry

This study is not directly about microplastics — it evaluates the compressive strength and water absorption of interlocking bricks made from waste PET plastic as a partial cement replacement in construction.

2024 Engineering and Technology Journal 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Material Development and Properties of Medium-Density Board from Low and High-Density Polyethylene

Not directly relevant to microplastic pollution research. This engineering study creates medium-density boards from waste polyethylene plastics and tests their mechanical properties for use in furniture and construction—a materials recycling study rather than a pollution or health impacts study.

2026 Advances in Technology Innovation
Article Tier 2

Effects of marine microplastics on the mechanical performance of bituminous binder for road asphalt pavements

Researchers investigated the effects of marine-sourced microplastics as additives in bituminous binders used for road asphalt pavements, finding that incorporating marine microplastics into bitumen improved mechanical road performance while simultaneously providing a recycling pathway for plastic waste collected from marine environments.

2025 Transportation research procedia
Article Tier 2

Recycling Marine Plastic into Clothing Apparel via Global Collaborations

This paper describes initiatives to collect marine plastic waste and convert it into clothing apparel through international collaborations, presenting this as an approach to both cleaning up ocean plastic and creating commercial value. While recycling marine plastic into textiles diverts waste from the ocean, washing synthetic fabrics made from recycled plastic releases microfibers that re-enter water systems. The paper does not address this recycling paradox.

2021 International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology
Article Tier 2

Assessing compatibility, tansesterification, and disintegration of PET/PLA fiber blend in composting conditions

This study examined the compatibility and degradation behavior of blended PET and PLA plastic fibers under composting conditions, relevant to recycling mixed synthetic textile waste. Understanding how blended synthetic and biodegradable plastics behave together affects strategies for managing the textile microplastic pollution problem.

2023 Frontiers in Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Non-Wettable Microporous Sheets Using Mixed Polyolefin Waste for Oil–Water Separation

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper describes manufacturing non-wettable porous sheets from recycled polyethylene and polypropylene waste for oil-water separation, focusing on materials recycling rather than microplastic pollution.

2023 Polymers 7 citations