Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on the Fate and Behaviour of Arsenic in the Environment and Their Significance for Drinking Water Supply

This review highlights a largely overlooked problem: microplastics in the environment can adsorb arsenic — one of the world's most dangerous water contaminants — onto their surfaces and potentially transport it to new locations or make it harder to remove during drinking water treatment. The authors call for urgent research into how the presence of microplastics affects the performance of arsenic removal technologies, since both pollutants now co-occur in water sources globally.

2023 Processes 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect and mechanism of coexistence of microplastics on arsenate adsorption capacity in water

Researchers examined how the presence of microplastics affects the ability of different materials to adsorb arsenate from contaminated water. They found that microplastics can interfere with the adsorption process, particularly by competing for binding sites on adsorbent materials like ZIF-8. The study highlights that co-contamination of water with both microplastics and heavy metals may complicate pollution remediation efforts.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficiency and mechanism of micro- and nano-plastic removal with polymeric Al-Fe bimetallic coagulants: Role of Fe addition

Researchers investigated polymeric Al-Fe bimetallic coagulants for removing micro- and nanoplastics from drinking water, finding that iron addition enhanced nanoplastic removal efficiency through improved charge neutralization and floc formation mechanisms.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the Potential of Coagulants to Improve Microplastics Removal in Wastewater and Tap Water

Researchers found that adding coagulants (FeCl3 or Al2(SO4)3) to wastewater and tap water improved microplastic removal, with aluminum sulfate achieving 43% and 62% removal efficiencies respectively, though the high concentrations required suggest that combining coagulants with organic polyelectrolytes could improve practicality.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Removal of polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics using PAC and FeCl3 coagulation: Performance and mechanism

Researchers studied how two common water treatment coagulants, PAC and iron chloride, remove polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics from water. They found that PAC was more effective than iron chloride, and that alkaline conditions improved removal rates. The study provides practical insights for drinking water treatment plants looking to reduce microplastic contamination in their supply.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 303 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal characteristics of microplastics by Fe-based coagulants during drinking water treatment

The removal of polyethylene microplastics from drinking water was tested with Fe-based coagulants under various conditions, finding that traditional coagulation alone achieved below 15% removal, while coagulation combined with ultrafiltration substantially improved performance. The study identifies the limitations of conventional water treatment for microplastic removal and highlights ultrafiltration as a necessary add-on for effective particle reduction.

2018 Journal of Environmental Sciences 446 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics removal from natural surface water by coagulation process

Researchers compared the effectiveness of ferrous and aluminum sulfate coagulants for removing microplastics from natural surface water, finding that both successfully removed polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride particles. Ferrous sulfate showed slightly higher removal efficiency, and the addition of coagulant aids further improved results. The study demonstrates that conventional coagulation processes already used in drinking water treatment can meaningfully reduce microplastic contamination.

2024 Desalination and Water Treatment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of As(III) by microplastics coexisting with antibiotics

This study examined how microplastics absorb arsenic, a toxic metal, from water, especially when antibiotics are also present. Smaller and more aged microplastic particles absorbed more arsenic, and environmental factors like pH and dissolved organic matter significantly changed absorption rates. This is relevant to human health because microplastics in contaminated water can concentrate toxic metals like arsenic on their surface and potentially carry them into drinking water or the food chain.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced coagulation process for removing dissolved organic matter, microplastics, and silver nanoparticles

Poly aluminum chloride (PACl) coagulation was tested for simultaneous removal of dissolved organic carbon, microplastics, and silver nanoparticles from canal water in Thailand, finding that PACl effectively reduced all three contaminants in a single treatment step. The results demonstrate coagulation as a practical multi-pollutant treatment strategy for water sources co-contaminated with microplastics and engineered nanoparticles.

2022 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding and Improving Microplastic Removal during Water Treatment: Impact of Coagulation and Flocculation

Researchers systematically tested coagulation and flocculation for removing microplastics from drinking water, finding that removal efficiency depended strongly on plastic particle size and whether particles had been weathered, with smaller pristine particles being the hardest to remove.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 424 citations
Article Tier 2

Arsenic adsorption by carboxylate and amino modified polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics: kinetics and mechanisms

Researchers found that functionalized polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics can adsorb arsenic from water, with carboxylate-modified particles showing higher capacity than amino-modified ones, and that salinity and humic acids inhibit adsorption, confirming microplastics can alter arsenic behavior in ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 30 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics removal from aquatic environment by coagulation: Selecting the best coagulant based on variables determined from a systematic review

This systematic review and experimental study identifies the most effective methods for removing microplastics from water using coagulation, a common water treatment technique. Researchers tested different coagulants on three types of microplastics and found that aluminum-based coagulants were most effective. These findings could help water treatment plants better remove microplastics from the water supply before it reaches our taps.

2023 Heliyon 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhancing microplastic removal from natural water using coagulant aids

Researchers tested different chemical treatments for removing microplastic beads from natural water and found that polyaluminium chloride combined with polyacrylamide achieved over 95% removal across six common plastic types. The treatment worked on particles ranging from 10 to 1,000 micrometers, and natural organic matter in the water actually improved performance. The findings suggest that optimizing standard water treatment processes could be a practical way to reduce microplastic contamination in drinking water sources.

2024 Chemosphere 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Elimination of a Mixture of Microplastics Using Conventional and Detergent-Assisted Coagulation

Researchers tested coagulation as a method to remove microplastics from tap water, evaluating how microplastic type (PE and PVC), water pH, coagulant dose, and microplastic concentration affect removal efficiency, and finding that detergent-assisted coagulation improves performance.

2023 Materials 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Microplastics on the Coagulation Mechanism of Polyaluminum–Titanium Chloride Composite Coagulant for Organic Matter Removal Revealed by Optical Spectroscopy

This study investigated how microplastics interfere with a water treatment coagulant (PATC) designed to remove dissolved organic matter from drinking water. High concentrations of aged polystyrene microplastics competed with organic matter for active binding sites on the coagulant, reducing its effectiveness at removing certain compounds while also slowing the breakdown of its most reactive component. The results show microplastics in source water can compromise the efficiency of conventional water purification processes.

2024 ACS ES&T Engineering 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Coagulation of TiO2, CeO2 nanoparticles, and polystyrene nanoplastics in bottled mineral and surface waters. Effect of water properties, coagulant type, and dosage

Polyaluminum chloride was more effective than iron chloride at coagulating TiO2, CeO2 nanoparticles, and polystyrene nanoplastics in drinking water sources, requiring lower doses to achieve particle removal. Nanoplastics were harder to coagulate than metal oxide nanoparticles, indicating that current water treatment practices may inadequately remove plastic nanoparticles from drinking water.

2020 Water Environment Research 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Iron-Loaded Microplastics: An Unintended Legacy of Fenton Wastewater Treatment with High Affinity for Arsenic

Scientists found that a common wastewater treatment process accidentally creates tiny plastic particles coated with iron that can soak up large amounts of arsenic, a toxic chemical. These iron-coated microplastics can absorb up to 26 times more arsenic than regular plastic particles, potentially affecting how this poison moves through our environment. This discovery matters because it could change how arsenic spreads in water and soil where people might be exposed to it.

2026 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

[Adsorption Characteristics of Arsenic on UV-aged Polypropylene Microplastics in Aqueous Solution].

This study examined how UV weathering (aging) changes the ability of polypropylene microplastics to adsorb arsenic from water, finding that aged plastic had rougher surfaces and more oxygen-containing groups, which enhanced arsenic adsorption. Environmental factors like pH and dissolved organic matter also influenced how much arsenic stuck to the plastic. Because aged microplastics bind more arsenic, they could carry this toxic heavy metal into aquatic food webs more effectively than pristine plastic particles.

2026 PubMed
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Recent advances in microplastic removal from drinking water by coagulation: Removal mechanisms and influencing factors

A meta-analysis and random forest model found that coagulation can effectively remove microplastics from drinking water, with particle shape being the most important factor affecting removal efficiency, followed by coagulant type and dosage. Charge neutralization is the dominant mechanism for small microplastics, while adsorption bridging and sweeping work better for larger particles.

2024 Environmental Pollution 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Different Coagulants on Microplastics Removal

Researchers compared the effectiveness of different coagulants—including aluminum sulfate, ferric chloride, and polyaluminum chloride—for removing microplastics from water, finding significant performance differences dependent on plastic particle size, charge, and coagulant dose.

2025 The Knowledge Bank (The Ohio State University)
Article Tier 2

Removal and toxic forecast of microplastics treated by electrocoagulation: Influence of dissolved organic matter

Electrocoagulation was evaluated for removing microplastics from water, with researchers investigating how co-pollutants and water chemistry affect removal efficiency and identifying the degradation products and toxicity of residual MPs post-treatment. The method showed high removal rates under optimized conditions but generated some toxic byproducts that require further management.

2022 Chemosphere 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Coagulation technologies for separation of microplastics in water: current status

This review examines how coagulation water treatment technologies can remove microplastics from water. Conventional coagulation achieves 8-98% removal efficiency while electrocoagulation achieves 8-99%, depending on conditions, offering a potentially effective approach for reducing microplastics in drinking water and wastewater.

2023 Journal of Physics Conference Series
Article Tier 2

Interface adsorption characteristics of microplastics on multiple morphological arsenic compounds

Researchers studied how polystyrene and PET microplastics adsorb different forms of arsenic, a toxic element commonly found in contaminated water. They found that polystyrene had a much higher capacity to bind arsenic compounds than PET, and that the arsenic-loaded microplastics were more toxic to organisms than either pollutant alone. The study highlights that microplastics can act as carriers for toxic heavy metals, amplifying their environmental harm.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of arsenic on the transport and attachment of microplastics in porous media

Researchers studied how arsenic, a common groundwater contaminant, affects the movement of microplastics through soil. They found that arsenic in water generally reduced how far microplastics traveled by promoting their attachment to soil particles, though this effect depended on arsenic concentration, water flow speed, and soil moisture levels. The findings help predict how microplastics and heavy metals may interact and spread together in underground water systems.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 20 citations