Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Study of the Environmental İmpact of Petroleum Product Waste Generated During Polyethylene Production at the SOCAR Polymer Plant

Researchers analyzed the environmental impact of polyethylene production at the SOCAR Polymer plant, examining the morphological composition of waste generated during synthesis, polymerization, and granulation stages and quantifying emissions of petroleum product waste with implications for microplastic pollution.

2025 The Research Journal of Forest and Ecosystems
Article Tier 2

Study of the Environmental Impact of Waste Generated During Polyethylene Production at the Socar Polymer Plant

This paper is a duplicate entry of ID 2268, examining the same study on environmental impact of polyethylene production waste at the SOCAR Polymer Plant.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Petrochemical industry as a source for microplastics; abundance and characteristics of pollution in soil, sewage, and bay

This is the first study to track microplastic pollution from a petrochemical industrial site through its soil, wastewater, and into the nearby bay. Soil near the production facilities contained up to 4,620 microplastic particles per kilogram, and significant amounts passed through wastewater treatment into open waters. The research shows that plastic manufacturing facilities are a direct and substantial source of microplastic contamination in the environment.

2024 Results in Engineering 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Preliminary Investigation of Microplastics in Sediments from Industrial Manufacturing Waste Sources

Microplastic contamination was investigated in sediments from industrial manufacturing waste sources, finding that plastics -- particularly polyethylene particles -- accumulate in sediments as repositories for both point-source and diffuse microplastic pollution.

2022 VNU Journal of Science Natural Sciences and Technology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Is the petrochemical industry an overlooked critical source of environmental microplastics?

Researchers found that a petrochemical wastewater treatment plant is a significant but overlooked source of environmental microplastics, with high abundances detected in influent, effluent, and sludge, suggesting the petrochemical industry warrants greater scrutiny.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Polymers and Microplastics: Implications on Our Environment and Sustainability

This review discusses the environmental implications of polymers and microplastics, covering their properties, production trends, degradation pathways, and ecological impacts. It highlights the tension between the industrial utility of plastics and their growing threat to environmental and human health.

2020 IntechOpen eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Risk assessment of microplastic exposure: A case study near a refinery factory at the central coast of Vietnam

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination on a beach near a refinery on the central coast of Vietnam and found plastic particles in all collected samples, averaging about 1,582 particles per kilogram of sediment. Fibers and fragments were the dominant shapes, with polyethylene terephthalate being the most common polymer type. The study indicates that industrial coastal areas face elevated microplastic pollution levels that may pose environmental and health risks.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic waste management in recycling facilities: Intentionally generated MPs as an emerging contaminant

Researchers characterized microplastic pollution in wastewater from four plastic recycling facilities in Turkey, finding that the recycling process itself generates significant quantities of microplastics. The dominant polymers detected were polyethylene and polypropylene, matching the materials being processed. The study suggests that plastic recycling facilities are an overlooked source of microplastic contamination and that better wastewater treatment at these sites is needed.

2024 Waste Management 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Ignored microplastic sources from plastic bottle recycling

Researchers measured microplastic generation and fate in three facilities that recycle post-consumer PET bottles into flakes, finding microplastic concentrations in production wastewater ranging from 23 to 1,836 milligrams per liter. Overall wastewater removal ranged from 53% to 99.6% by mass, with the remainder concentrated in sludge, revealing plastic recycling facilities as a poorly recognized source of microplastic pollution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 58 citations
Article Tier 2

The destiny of microplastics in one typical petrochemical wastewater treatment plant

This study tracked the fate of microplastics through a petrochemical wastewater treatment plant, finding that while most microplastics were removed during treatment, the plant still released measurable quantities into receiving waters, identifying the petrochemical industry as a point source of microplastic emissions.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Pollution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Microplastics and Plasticizers Around a Typical Chemical Industrial Park

Plastic manufacturing facilities are an overlooked but significant local source of microplastic and chemical pollution. Sampling a river downstream of a Chinese plastics industrial park, researchers found microplastic concentrations 2.8 times higher below the plant's wastewater discharge point than upstream, with an estimated 22 trillion microplastic particles entering the environment from that single facility annually. The study also detected high levels of DEHP, a plasticizer chemical classified as an endocrine disruptor, in both water and sediments — highlighting that plastic production zones create compound pollution risks combining microplastics with hazardous chemical additives.

2025 Water 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Problems in Obtaining and Application of Polymer Composites in the Republic of Belarus

This paper discusses environmental challenges associated with manufacturing and using polymer composite materials in Belarus, touching on pollution risks from plastic production processes.

2023 Polymer materials and technologies
Article Tier 2

Étude du relargage de Microplastiques lors de la phase d'usage des produits issus de l'industrie de la plasturgie

This French-language study characterized microplastic release from plastic products during use in the plastics industry, evaluating how product type, mechanical stress, and material properties influence particle generation rates — providing data relevant to occupational and consumer exposure assessment.

2025 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Prevention and control strategies for non-regulated industrial microplastic spills

Researchers examined prevention and control strategies for microplastic spills from industrial activities, analyzing the challenges of identifying industrially sourced primary microplastics in the environment and proposing management frameworks to reduce pollution from non-regulated industrial sources.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Extraction and Characterization of Microplastics from Portuguese Industrial Effluents

Researchers characterized microplastic contamination in effluents from multiple Portuguese industrial sectors, finding that various well-established industries contribute to microplastic release into wastewater and pose risks of contaminating aquifers.

2022 Polymers 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil Pollution with Microplastic in the Impact Area of a Plant Producing Expanded Polystyrene

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in soil near a polystyrene insulation board factory in Belarus, finding elevated concentrations in both the industrial site and downstream floodplain sediments. Industrial facilities that produce or process plastic materials are an underappreciated local source of microplastic soil pollution.

2022 Eurasian Soil Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential contamination of microplastic from plastic recycling enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Researchers found that plastic recycling plants in Ho Chi Minh City release significant concentrations of microplastics through their wastewater and sludge, with thousands of particles per liter in effluent, identifying recycling facilities as an underrecognized continuous source of microplastic pollution.

2023 Human and Ecological Risk Assessment An International Journal 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of microplastics in wastewater systems of German industrial parks and their wastewater treatment plants

Researchers provided one of the first assessments of microplastic occurrence in German industrial park wastewater systems, quantifying microplastic distribution across production plant effluents and treatment plant stages to understand industrial contributions to aquatic pollution.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Identification in Plastic Recycling Facility: Removal Efficiencies of the Treatment Plants and Its Potential Release to the Environment

A plastic recycling facility in Indonesia was found to release significant quantities of microplastics into its wastewater, with nearly 500 particles per liter entering the treatment system and smaller fragments persisting even after treatment. The findings highlight that recycling operations — often considered part of the solution to plastic waste — can themselves be a meaningful source of microplastic pollution in local waterways.

2024 Journal of Ecological Engineering 2 citations
Article Tier 2

First quantification of semi-crystalline microplastics in industrial wastewaters

Researchers provided the first quantitative data on microplastic concentrations in industrial wastewaters, sampling effluents from three different industrial sites to characterize semi-crystalline microplastic content. The study filled a critical data gap showing that industrial wastewater is a meaningful contributor to overall microplastic emissions into natural water bodies.

2020 Chemosphere 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating Adhesion and Degradation of Polymer Materials for Industrial Applications

This study investigated the adhesion and degradation behaviors of polymer materials used in industrial applications, examining how surface interactions and environmental breakdown contribute to plastic pollution through microplastic generation.

2024 Deep Blue (University of Michigan)
Article Tier 2

Recycle or Not? An Exploration of Microplastic Generation During Plastic Processing via a Local Case Study

Researchers measured microplastic generation during plastic extrusion processing for both virgin and recycled materials, finding that each ton of plastic processed releases between roughly 213,000 and 98 million microplastic particles. Virgin plastic processing and water ring pelletizing techniques generated more and smaller microplastics than recycling operations, making plastic recycling the preferable option for reducing microplastic emissions. Simulations showed that up to 84% of these particles could be removed using commonly available filtration materials at processing facilities.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifikasi Mikroplastik pada Air Sungai Akibat Limbah Pabrik Daur Ulang Plastik di Sidoarjo dan Mojokerto

This Indonesian study identified microplastic contamination in river water near plastic recycling factories in Sidoarjo and Mojokerto. The findings show that plastic recycling facilities can themselves be sources of microplastic pollution, releasing particles into nearby waterways during processing.

2023 Environmental Pollution Journal
Article Tier 2

Assessing the environmental footprint of recycled plastic pellets: A life-cycle assessment perspective

This study used life-cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of producing recycled plastic pellets from waste polyolefin plastics. While recycling reduced carbon emissions compared to making new plastic, the process still required significant energy, especially when solvent recovery was maximized. The research is relevant to the microplastics problem because it shows that even recycling processes need optimization to truly reduce the environmental footprint of plastic waste.

2023 Environmental Technology & Innovation 84 citations