Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

An efficient extraction device for microplastics in marine sediments and its applications

Researchers developed a new high-efficiency extraction device for separating microplastics from marine sediment samples using air pumps and metal perforated plate fillers. The device demonstrated improved effectiveness and efficiency compared to conventional density flotation methods for isolating plastic particles. The study suggests this tool could enhance the accuracy of quantitative microplastic detection in marine environments where sediments serve as significant pollution sinks.

2024 RSC Advances 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Enrichment of microplastic pollution by micro-nanobubbles

Researchers investigated micro-nanobubbles as a novel technique for concentrating and removing microplastic pollution from water, finding that bubble-particle interactions can significantly enrich microplastic concentrations and offer a promising avenue for remediation.

2022 Chinese Physics B 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced microplastic removal using a mini-hydrocyclone with microbubbles

Researchers improved microplastic separation from water by combining mini-hydrocyclones with microbubble injection, finding that the microbubbles reduced apparent microplastic density and substantially improved separation efficiency for particles with densities similar to water.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

A new small device made of glass for separating microplastics from marine and freshwater sediments

Researchers developed a new compact glass device for extracting microplastics from marine and freshwater sediments via density separation, addressing shortcomings of existing apparatus such as poor recovery rates and time inefficiency.

2019 PeerJ 95 citations
Article Tier 2

Hydrophobicity–water/air–based enrichment cell for microplastics analysis within environmental samples: A proof of concept

Researchers developed a new microplastic separation device that uses the hydrophobic properties of plastic particles combined with fine air bubbles to quickly and effectively extract microplastics from sediment and soil samples. The new method avoids harsh solvents that can degrade microplastic particles and offers a faster alternative to existing separation techniques.

2019 MethodsX 24 citations
Article Tier 2

A microfluidic device for size-based microplastics and microalgae separation

Researchers designed a microfluidic device that separates microplastics and microalgae by size using controlled flow patterns. The device could be used to isolate microplastics from complex environmental water samples containing biological material, improving the accuracy of microplastic monitoring.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced nanobubble flotation for enhanced removal of sub-10 µm microplastics from wastewater

Scientists developed a nanobubble-assisted flotation technique that improves removal of very small microplastics (under 10 micrometers) from wastewater by up to 17% compared to traditional methods. Removing these tiny particles is especially important because their small size makes them more likely to pass through water treatment and eventually be consumed by humans.

2024 Nature Communications 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Micro/Nano-Plastics from Water by Flotation Technology: A Review

This review covers flotation technology as a method for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water, explaining how dissolved air flotation, electroflotation, and froth flotation work to separate plastic particles. The authors assess performance data across particle sizes and polymer types and identify remaining challenges for scaling these approaches.

2025 JORDANIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES (JJECI)
Article Tier 2

A Novel Application of Filtration for the Collection of Microplastics in Waterways

Researchers developed a novel filtration system for collecting microplastics from waterways, demonstrating its effectiveness as a scalable and practical tool for environmental monitoring and plastic pollution assessment.

2024 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Utilization of Bubbles and Oil for Microplastic Capture from Water

Researchers demonstrated a simple method using vegetable oil and air bubbles to capture over 98% of microplastics from water, achieving complete removal of larger particles and high capture of microfibers — a potentially passive, low-cost cleanup approach that avoids releasing secondary contamination into treated water.

2024 Engineering 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovative prototype for the mitigation of water pollution from microplastics to safeguard the environment and health

Researchers developed an innovative prototype device for removing microplastics from water through a combination of filtration and electrocoagulation, demonstrating high MP removal efficiency from both synthetic and real water samples in controlled trials.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

A membrane cascade for size-based separation and concentration of nanoplastics in environmental waters

Researchers developed a cascade system of membrane filters that can separate and concentrate nanoplastics from environmental water samples by size. They demonstrated that the system effectively isolates nanoplastic particles while tracking recovery rates using fluorescent markers. The technology addresses a major challenge in nanoplastic research by providing a reliable method to extract these extremely small particles from water for accurate measurement and analysis.

2025 Separation and Purification Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for Microplastics

Researchers developed a robotic device capable of vacuuming up tiny plastic particles floating on the surface of water bodies, offering a new tool for cleaning up microplastic pollution in lakes, ponds, or coastal areas. The device represents a step toward automated, scalable approaches for removing microplastics from aquatic environments.

2025 Physics
Article Tier 2

Review: Impact of microfluidic cell and particle separation techniques on microplastic removal strategies

Researchers reviewed how microfluidic technology — the same miniaturized tools used in medical diagnostics to sort cells — could be adapted to separate and recover microplastics from water, offering a more precise and scalable alternative to conventional filtration methods used in wastewater treatment.

2024 Journal of Agriculture and Food Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel extraction and separation method reveals high quantities of microplastics in Hawaiian beach sand

Researchers developed two novel devices — the Buoyancy Separation Device and the Trash Time Machine — to extract microplastics from Hawaiian beach sand and plant matter, achieving 99.99% removal efficiency and documenting high plastic concentrations at Kahuku Beach in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu.

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

Novel extraction and separation method reveals high quantities of microplastics in Hawaiian beach sand

Researchers developed two novel devices — the Buoyancy Separation Device and the Trash Time Machine — to extract microplastics from Hawaiian beach sand and plant matter, achieving 99.99% removal efficiency and documenting high plastic concentrations at Kahuku Beach in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu.

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

Performance assessment of bubbles barriers for microplastic remediation

Researchers experimentally evaluated the performance of bubble barrier devices for collecting microplastics in natural and artificial streams, testing different configurations of bubble generators and alignment angles to determine which arrangements most effectively directed both floating and non-floating particles toward collection systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in seawater: a study of pretreatment, separation, and recovery.

Researchers developed and compared pretreatment, separation, and recovery methods for isolating microplastics from seawater samples, addressing the methodological diversity that limits comparability across marine monitoring studies. The study identified optimal combinations of techniques that improve microplastic recovery efficiency while minimizing contamination and sample loss.

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

Development and evaluation of a water treatment system for the removal of microplastics in an aqueous medium.

Researchers developed and evaluated a water treatment system for removing microplastics from aqueous media, addressing the urgent environmental concern of microplastic contamination in rivers, seas, and oceans and assessing the system's effectiveness as a promising water purification technology.

2025 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Novel Efficient Method to Continuously Collect Microplastics from Seawater via a Two-Phase System

Scientists developed a two-phase liquid extraction method that collects microplastics from flowing seawater continuously and at multiple depths with an average recovery rate of nearly 96%. The method was successfully tested in a real bay environment and offers a practical tool for monitoring microplastic pollution at sea.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Towed dredge for collection of microplastics from the surface of the bottom through density separation

Researchers describe a towed dredge device designed to collect microplastics from the bottom of water bodies using density separation, addressing a gap in equipment for sampling microplastics in aquatic sediments.

2023 Geology and Mineral Resources of World Ocean
Article Tier 2

Efficient, quick, and low-carbon removal mechanism of microplastics based on integrated gel coagulation-spontaneous flotation process

Researchers developed a new gel-based coagulation and flotation method for removing microplastics from water using a natural seaweed-derived crosslinker. The process achieved high removal rates quickly while using significantly less energy than traditional coagulation-flotation approaches. The study offers a more efficient and lower-carbon approach to water treatment that could help address microplastic contamination in drinking water and wastewater systems.

2024 Water Research 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmentally safe and cost-effective microplastic isolation using a salt–sugar flotation approach

Researchers developed an environmentally safe and cost-effective microplastic isolation method using a salt-sugar flotation approach as an alternative to conventional expensive salt-based density separation. The technique effectively separates microplastics from environmental matrices while minimizing the chemical burden of the remediation process itself.

2025 Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies
Article Tier 2

Improved microplastic processing from complex biological samples using a customized vacuum filtration apparatus

Researchers developed a customized vacuum filtration apparatus to improve the processing of microplastics from complex biological marine samples, addressing longstanding methodological barriers in accurately separating and quantifying particles smaller than 5 mm. The system aims to reduce contamination and sample loss that have hindered standardization across microplastic monitoring studies in both abiotic and biotic compartments.

2022 Limnology and Oceanography Methods 10 citations