Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Wastewater treatment plant effluent and microfiber pollution: focus on industry-specific wastewater

Researchers examined microfiber pollution from wastewater treatment plant effluent, finding that industry-specific wastewater from textile operations released significantly higher concentrations of synthetic microfibers compared to municipal sources.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Microfibres from Textile Industry Effluents

Researchers reviewed the fate of microfibres released from textile industry effluents, finding that conventional wastewater treatment is insufficient to fully remove fibres, which then enter receiving waterways and contribute to environmental microplastic loads.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic removal from wastewater through biopolymer and nanocellulose-based green technologies

Biopolymer-based coagulation and flocculation agents were shown to effectively remove microplastics from wastewater, offering a more sustainable alternative to synthetic chemical flocculants. The approach supports eco-friendly microplastic treatment that avoids adding further chemical pollutants to effluents.

2025 RSC Sustainability 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficacy of bacterial cellulose hydrogel in microfiber removal from contaminated waters: A sustainable approach to wastewater treatment

Researchers developed a bacterial cellulose hydrogel made from unused cellulose remnants and tested it as an eco-friendly filter for removing microfibers from contaminated water. The hydrogel achieved an average removal rate of nearly 94 percent and retained the captured fibers well, releasing only about 8 percent after washing. The study presents this bio-based approach as a sustainable and effective alternative for tackling microfiber pollution in wastewater.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Elimination of Microplastics from Textile Industry Wastewater Using Various Treatment Technologies

This review discusses various treatment technologies for removing microplastics from textile industry wastewater, including biotechnological strategies, photodegradation, thermal-oxidative degradation, and Fenton-like systems. The study highlights that synthetic fibers from the textile industry are a major source of microplastic pollution and examines the effectiveness of different approaches for addressing this growing environmental challenge.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection and Analysis of Microfibers and Microplastics in Wastewater from a Textile Company

Researchers analyzed microfiber and microplastic levels in wastewater from a textile company, finding that the on-site treatment plant removed only 38–65% of microfibers, meaning up to 62% — including acrylic, polyester, and polyamide particles — can escape into receiving waterways.

2022 Microplastics 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and characteristics of microplastic in different types of industrial wastewater and sludge: A potential threat of emerging pollutants to the freshwater of Bangladesh

Researchers documented the first evidence of microplastic contamination in industrial wastewater and sludge from five industry types in Bangladesh, finding concentrations of 293-2713 MPs/L in wastewater and 115,878 MPs/kg in sludge. Existing treatment plants removed only about 62% of MPs, with nylon, cellulose acetate, and polystyrene fibers being the most common types.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Extraction Method of Microplastic System in Textile Wastewater

This study developed and evaluated methods for extracting and quantifying microplastics from textile wastewater, addressing the lack of standardized analytical protocols for this important industrial source of microplastic pollution.

2023 Polymers 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial cellulose biopolymers: The sustainable solution to water-polluting microplastics

Researchers developed bacterial cellulose (BC) biopolymer filters as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based polymer filters used in wastewater treatment plant microplastic removal. BC filters showed high MP capture efficiency and are biodegradable, addressing both microplastic pollution and the environmental costs of conventional synthetic filter maintenance.

2022 Water Research 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Microplastics from Laundry Wastewater Using Coagulation and Membrane Combination: A Laboratory-Scale Study

Researchers characterized microplastics in raw domestic laundry wastewater (9,000–11,000 particles/L, dominated by polyester fibers) and tested whether combining coagulation with ultrafiltration membrane filtration improved MP removal. The combined process significantly enhanced removal compared to coagulation alone, highlighting laundry wastewater as a major MP source amenable to treatment at scale.

2025 Membranes 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of Removal Efficiency of Microplastics at Different Process Stages of a Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Textile Industry in Southern China

Researchers investigated microplastic removal efficiency at different stages of a textile industry wastewater treatment plant in southern China. Using laser infrared and mass spectrometry techniques, they found that the plant effectively reduced microplastic counts, though some particles still passed through to the effluent. The study highlights that textile manufacturing is a significant source of microplastic pollution and that treatment processes need continued improvement.

2025 Water 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Tailored cellulose-based flocculants for microplastics removal: Mechanistic insights, pH influence, and efficiency optimization

Researchers developed plant-derived (cellulose-based) flocculants that clump microplastics together so they can be more easily removed from water, finding that a low concentration of 0.001 g/mL was optimal and that both electrical charge and water-repelling interactions drive the process depending on the type of plastic.

2025 Powder Technology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

STEM Approach in Assessment of Microplastic Particles in Textile Wastewater

A multidisciplinary STEM approach was applied to characterize microplastic particles in both household laundry wastewater and industrial textile effluents. Microplastics were detected in significant quantities in both streams, with fiber shapes predominating. The study demonstrates that textile manufacturing and laundry are important but underregulated sources of microplastic pollution in wastewater.

2022 Tehnicki vjesnik - Technical Gazette 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating Microplastics Removal Efficiency of Textile Industry Conventional Wastewater Treatment Plant of Thailand

A Thai textile wastewater treatment plant was found to be releasing significant quantities of microplastics into adjacent waterways, with conventional treatment processes failing to remove the majority of plastic particles.

2024 Journal of Ecological Engineering 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic fibre releases from industrial wastewater effluent: a textile wet-processing mill in China

Researchers sampled industrial wastewater from a textile wet-processing mill in China and found an average of 361.6 microplastic fibers per liter in the effluent, with 92% shorter than 1000 micrometers. The study suggests that industrial textile processing is a significant point source of microplastic fiber pollution that has been understudied relative to domestic laundering, and that targeting these effluents could meaningfully reduce global microfiber releases.

2021 Environmental Chemistry 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Types in the Wastewater System—A Comparison of Material Flow-Based Source Estimates and the Measurement-Based Load to a Wastewater Treatment Plant

This study compared model-based estimates of microplastic sources in wastewater with actual measurements at a treatment plant, finding that synthetic textiles were the dominant source of microplastic fibers. The results help prioritize which pollution sources to address first in efforts to reduce microplastics entering waterways from sewage treatment.

2021 Sustainability 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Underestimation of Regenerated Cellulosic Microfibers in the Environment: Errors Introduced by Using Extraction Methods for Microplastics

Researchers discovered that common extraction methods designed for microplastics can damage regenerated cellulose fibers, leading to their underestimation in environmental samples. The study suggests that as production of regenerated cellulose fibers increases as a substitute for synthetic fibers, current analytical methods may significantly undercount their environmental presence.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Synthetic microfibers: Pollution toxicity and remediation

Researchers reviewed the sources, transport pathways, ecological impacts, and remediation approaches for synthetic microfiber pollution originating from domestic washing machines. The study highlights that urban laundry wastewater is a major contributor to microfiber pollution entering aquatic and terrestrial environments, with potential effects on the food chain and human health.

2020 Chemosphere 284 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Efficacy of Magnetic Micro-Nanoparticles in Water Treatment as a Potential Solution for Textile Microplastic Pollution

Researchers tested magnetic micro/nanoparticles as a method for removing polyester microfibers from textile industry wastewater, in the context of EU REACH regulations. The magnetic treatment showed high removal efficiency for microfibers across multiple test conditions, suggesting a scalable option for textile effluent treatment.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Approaches for Sampling and Sample Preparation for Microplastic Analysis in Laundry Effluents

Researchers reviewed sampling and sample preparation methods for analyzing microplastics in laundry effluents. The study highlights the lack of standardized methods for quantifying textile fiber microplastics released during washing and emphasizes the need for consistent analytical approaches to better understand this significant source of microplastic pollution.

2024 Sustainability 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient Filtration Systems for Microplastic Elimination in Wastewater

Synthetic microfibers and microplastic particles released during industrial laundry processes are a significant but under-addressed source of water pollution. This study designed a three-stage textile cascade filter system capable of capturing microplastic particles down to 1.5 micrometers from laundry wastewater, achieving high removal efficiency using progressively finer polypropylene filter media. The approach offers a practical engineering solution for reducing microplastic discharge from commercial laundries before it reaches waterways.

2025 Microplastics 1 citations
Review Tier 2

Synthetic textile and microfiber pollution: a review on mitigation strategies

This review examines strategies to mitigate synthetic textile microfiber pollution, covering filtration technologies, fiber-shedding-reducing fabric designs, wastewater treatment upgrades, and policy measures.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 96 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficiency of Coagulation/Flocculation for the Removal of Complex Mixture of Textile Fibers from Water

Researchers tested coagulation and flocculation for removing a mixture of synthetic and natural textile fibers from water, finding that the presence of natural fibers significantly affected removal efficiency compared to single-fiber studies, which has practical implications for wastewater treatment.

2023 Processes 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Direct filtration of microfibre-containing wastewater using nanofibre membranes: combined effects of mode of filtration and type of microfibre

Scientists tested how tiny plastic fibers from clothes and textiles affect water treatment systems that remove these pollutants from wastewater. They found that different types of plastic fibers either help or hurt the cleaning process depending on the material and how the water flows through filters. This research is important because it could help improve systems that remove microplastics from our water supply before they reach rivers, oceans, and potentially our drinking water.

2026 Chemical Engineering Journal Advances