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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Are micro/nanorobots an effective solution to eliminate micro/nanoplastics in water/wastewater treatment plants?
ClearMicro/nanorobots for efficient removal and degradation of micro/nanoplastics
This paper reviews how tiny self-propelled robots at the micro and nanoscale could be used to capture and remove microplastics from water. These robots can be designed to target specific types of plastic particles and move through water on their own, offering advantages over traditional filtration methods. While still in early development, this technology could eventually provide a practical way to reduce microplastic contamination in drinking water and aquatic environments.
Remediation of micro- and nanoplastics by robotic technology: Performance, critical factors and marketing barriers
This review examines how micro- and nano-robotic technologies can be used to target and remove microplastic and nanoplastic particles from water. Researchers evaluated the performance of various robotic systems powered by light, magnetic fields, or chemical reactions, and found they show promise for precise pollutant removal at small scales. The study identifies cost-effectiveness and scaling up from laboratory to real-world applications as the main barriers to commercialization.
Micro/nanorobots for remediation of water resources and aquatic life
Not relevant to microplastics — this review covers micro/nanorobot technologies for water pollution control, focusing on propulsion methods and decontamination mechanisms for biological and chemical pollutants broadly, with only passing mention of plastics.
Micro/Nanorobotics in Environmental Water Governance: Nanoengineering Strategies for Pollution Control
This review examines advances in micro- and nanorobotics for environmental water treatment, including their use in degrading microplastics, organic pollutants, and harmful microorganisms. Researchers highlight the potential of photocatalytic, magnetic, and self-propelled robotic systems to provide more precise and sustainable alternatives to traditional water treatment methods. The study also acknowledges challenges in scalability and cost-effectiveness that need to be addressed before widespread adoption.
Nano/Microplastics Capture and Degradation by Autonomous Nano/Microrobots: A Perspective
This perspective article explores how tiny self-propelled nano- and microrobots could be used to capture and break down microplastic and nanoplastic particles in water. Researchers reviewed recent advances showing these autonomous robots can efficiently collect plastic particles through enhanced physical interactions as they move through contaminated water. The technology represents a promising but still early-stage approach to actively cleaning up plastic pollution at scales too small for conventional methods.
Nanomaterials for Microplastic Removal from Wastewater: Current State of the Art Nanomaterials and Future Prospects
This review surveys recent advances in using nanomaterials to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from wastewater, since conventional treatment plants struggle to capture these tiny particles. Researchers evaluate different nanomaterial approaches including magnetic nanoparticles, photocatalysts, and membrane technologies. The study identifies promising strategies but notes that challenges around scalability, cost, and potential environmental risks of the nanomaterials themselves still need to be addressed.
Micromachines for Microplastics Treatment
This review summarizes advances in micro- and nanomotor devices for microplastic removal from aquatic environments, describing how these tiny machines can be powered by chemical fuels or light to propel themselves and capture or degrade plastic particles. The authors identify scalability and environmental safety as key challenges for transitioning from laboratory demonstrations to real-world applications.
Removal of Micro and Nanoplastics from Water Using Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Review
This review evaluates the use of magnetic nanoparticles as a technology for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water. Researchers found that magnetic nanoparticles can effectively capture plastic particles through surface interactions and be easily separated from water using magnets. The study suggests this approach offers a promising and energy-efficient method for cleaning microplastic-contaminated water, though challenges remain in scaling it for real-world applications.
Nanomaterials for microplastics remediation in wastewater: A viable step towards cleaner water
This review examines how nanomaterials, tiny engineered particles with high surface area and reactivity, can be used to remove microplastics from water more effectively than traditional methods like filtration and sedimentation. While promising, these technologies face challenges including high production costs, potential toxicity of the nanomaterials themselves, and difficulty scaling up from lab to real-world applications. Improving these methods is important because current water treatment often fails to remove the smallest and most harmful microplastic particles.
Magnetic and electrical techniques for the effective removal of microplastics and nanoplastics
This review covers the latest advances in using magnetic and electrical methods to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from the environment, including magnetic iron-based and carbon-based materials, magnetic micro-robots, electrocoagulation, electrosorption, and electrokinetic separation. These physical and electrochemical approaches are gaining traction as efficient, chemical-free alternatives to conventional filtration. The review helps identify which removal technologies are most promising for large-scale water treatment applications.
Self-driven magnetorobots for recyclable and scalable micro/nanoplastic removal from nonmarine waters
Researchers developed self-driven magnetorobots using magnetizable ion-exchange resin spheres that can dynamically remove micro- and nanoplastics from nonmarine waters, overcoming limitations of conventional chemical flocculation and physical filtration methods.
Current status of microplastics and nanoplastics removal methods: Summary, comparison and prospect
This review comprehensively summarized and compared current methods for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water, covering physical, chemical, and biological approaches while identifying key challenges and future directions for improving removal efficiency.
Tiny robots catch bacteria, microplastics in water
Researchers developed magnetically controlled microbots under 3 micrometers in diameter -- fabricated from Dynabeads coated with polymer strands -- that can capture both free-swimming bacteria and microplastics in water, offering a novel remediation approach for two distinct categories of aquatic contaminants.
Sustainable Magnetic Nanorobots for Microplastics Remediation
This review highlights how magnetically controlled nanorobots — functionalized with hydrophobic coatings, biochar, and carbon-based materials — can remove microplastics from water with efficiencies exceeding 90% in minutes. Bioinspired designs mimicking biological swarm behavior offer reusable, eco-friendly alternatives to conventional remediation strategies.
Low-Energy Photoresponsive Magnetic-Assisted Cleaning Microrobots for Removal of Microplastics in Water Environments
Researchers developed tiny light-powered magnetic microrobots that can actively seek out and collect microplastics from water, achieving 98% removal efficiency in under two minutes. The microrobots can be guided using magnetic fields and recovered for reuse, making the approach both effective and eco-friendly. This technology could eventually help clean microplastics from water sources before they reach people, though it is still at the laboratory stage.
Recent Advancements in Multimodal Chemically Powered Micro/Nanorobots for Environmental Sensing and Remediation
This review covers recent developments in chemically powered micro- and nanorobots designed for environmental sensing and pollution cleanup. Researchers describe how these tiny self-propelling machines can detect and capture pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and organic contaminants in water. The study highlights the potential of nanorobot technology as an emerging tool for environmental remediation, though challenges in scalability and real-world deployment remain.
Recent Advances in Microrobots Powered by Multi-Physics Field for Biomedical and Environmental Applications
Not relevant to microplastics — this review surveys multi-physics-field-driven microrobots for biomedical and environmental applications such as targeted drug delivery and pollutant degradation, with microplastic removal mentioned only in passing as one of many potential environmental uses.
Reconfigurable Magnetic Liquid Metal Microrobots: A Regenerable Solution for the Capture and Removal of Micro/Nanoplastics
Scientists developed magnetically controlled liquid metal microrobots that can capture and remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. The tiny robots can change shape, be steered with magnets, and be regenerated for reuse, offering a potential new technology for cleaning plastic pollution from water sources before it reaches people.
On-the-Fly Monitoring of the Capture and Removal of Nanoplastics with Nanorobots
Scientists developed magnetic nanorobots that can capture and remove more than 90% of nanoplastics from water within two hours, along with a simple fluorescent dye method to detect and measure nanoplastic concentrations. Nanoplastics are extremely difficult to detect and remove due to their tiny size, so this dual approach of detection and cleanup is a significant advance. These tools could eventually help reduce nanoplastic contamination in drinking water and protect human health.
Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification
This review explores the use of tiny self-propelled micro- and nanorobots as a new approach to water purification. These programmable synthetic robots can actively seek out and interact with pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and organic contaminants, overcoming the limitations of passive treatment methods. The technology represents a promising frontier for more targeted and efficient water remediation.
A Survey of Recent Developments in Magnetic Microrobots for Micro-/Nano-Manipulation
This survey reviews recent advances in tiny magnetically controlled robots designed for manipulating objects at the micro and nano scale, particularly in biomedical applications. Researchers found that these microrobots show promise for targeted drug delivery, cell manipulation, and minimally invasive surgery. While not directly about microplastics, the technology could eventually be applied to detecting or removing micro-scale pollutants from biological systems.
Advances in magnetic materials for microplastic separation and degradation
This review examines how magnetic materials can be used to capture and break down microplastics in water. Different types of magnetic particles, including iron nanoparticles and tiny magnetic robots, can attract and remove microplastics with high efficiency. These technologies could be important for cleaning up microplastic-contaminated water supplies and reducing human exposure through drinking water.
Nano-based remediation strategies for micro and nanoplastic pollution
This review covers how nanomaterial-based technologies can be used to remove microplastics from the environment, including methods using magnetic nanoparticles, photocatalysts, and membrane filters. While current physical, chemical, and biological removal methods each have limitations, nanomaterials can enhance their effectiveness by targeting smaller plastic particles that traditional methods miss. Better removal technologies could ultimately reduce human exposure to microplastics in drinking water and food.
Micro- and nanoplastics removal mechanisms in wastewater treatment plants: A review
This review examines how conventional wastewater treatment plants remove micro- and nanoplastics, and evaluates advanced technologies like membrane filtration and electrocoagulation that could improve removal rates. While existing treatment plants can capture most microplastics, they still release significant quantities into waterways through their enormous discharge volumes. The study highlights that biological treatment steps may also transform microplastics in potentially harmful ways that need further investigation.