Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Tertiary/quaternary treatment of urban wastewater by UV/H2O2 or ozonation: Microplastics may affect removal of E. coli and contaminants of emerging concern

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics interfere with UV/hydrogen peroxide and ozonation treatments used to disinfect urban wastewater. They found that increasing microplastic concentrations reduced the effectiveness of both treatment methods at killing E. coli bacteria and degrading pharmaceutical contaminants. The study suggests that microplastic pollution in wastewater could compromise advanced treatment processes designed to protect public health.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on tertiary/quaternary treatment of urban wastewater: Fe-biochar/peroxymonosulfate/sunlight vs solar photo-Fenton

Researchers evaluated how microplastics present in secondary-treated urban wastewater affect the degradation of four pharmaceutical micropollutants and the inactivation of antibiotic-resistant E. coli using two advanced oxidation processes. Microplastics were found to influence the performance of both iron-modified biochar/peroxymonosulfate and solar photo-Fenton treatments.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of the effect of microplastics on the UV inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in water

Researchers found that polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics significantly reduced UV disinfection effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as bacteria associated with microplastic surfaces were shielded from UV exposure, creating a potential public health concern.

2022 Water Research 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban and Industrial Wastewater Disinfection and Decontamination by Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs): Current Issues and Future Trends

This review examined advanced oxidation processes for disinfecting and removing contaminants from urban and industrial wastewater before release into the environment. These treatment technologies can also help break down microplastics and associated chemical pollutants in wastewater.

2021 Water 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced Oxidation Techniques and Hybrid Approaches for Microplastic Degradation: A Comprehensive Review

This review examines advanced oxidation processes for degrading microplastics, including photocatalysis, electrochemical oxidation, Fenton reactions, and plasma technologies, which generate reactive species capable of breaking down polymer chains. Hybrid systems combining these oxidation methods with biological treatments or membrane filtration showed particular promise for scalable microplastic remediation. The authors identify challenges around energy consumption, secondary pollutant formation, and the need for optimization before these technologies can be integrated into existing wastewater treatment infrastructure.

2026 Catalysts
Article Tier 2

Recent advances and challenges in advanced oxidation processes for degradation of nano- and microplastics in water: a critical review

This critical review evaluates four main advanced oxidation processes — ozonation, photocatalysis, Fenton reactions, and electrochemical oxidation — for breaking down nano- and microplastics in water, summarizing what has been achieved and where major technical gaps remain. Developing effective degradation technologies is urgently needed because conventional water treatment systems do not reliably remove small plastic particles.

2026 RSC Advances
Article Tier 2

Advanced oxidation processes for the elimination of microplastics from aqueous systems: Assessment of efficiency, perspectives and limitations

This review evaluates advanced oxidation processes as a strategy for breaking down microplastics in water systems, comparing techniques such as photocatalysis, Fenton reactions, and ozonation. Researchers found that while these methods show promise for degrading microplastics into smaller, less harmful molecules, challenges remain in scaling them for practical use. The study identifies key limitations and suggests directions for making these technologies more efficient and applicable to real-world water treatment.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 99 citations
Article Tier 2

A Short Review on Recent Advanced Oxidation Technologies for Microplastics Degradation

This review summarizes recent advances in advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs) for degrading microplastics, evaluating methods such as UV/ozone, Fenton reactions, and photocatalysis. The authors assess the efficiency, scalability, and limitations of each approach for treating microplastic-contaminated water.

2023 Journal of Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Sustainability of Photodegradation and Photocatalysis for Wastewater Reuse in an Agricultural Resilience Context

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this review evaluates photodegradation and photocatalysis technologies for purifying wastewater for agricultural reuse, without a focus on microplastic removal.

2023 Water 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by(sunlight)FeCl3-modified biochar for efficient degradation of contaminants of emerging concern: Comparison with H2O2 and effect of microplastics

Researchers investigated how microplastics affect the ability of iron-modified biochar to break down emerging contaminants in wastewater when activated by peroxymonosulfate and sunlight. Surprisingly, they found that the presence of microplastics actually enhanced the treatment efficiency by up to 42%. The study demonstrates that the coexistence of microplastics and biochar in wastewater can influence the effectiveness of advanced oxidation treatment processes.

2025 Chemical Engineering Journal 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Addressing main challenges in the tertiary treatment of urban wastewater: are homogeneous photodriven AOPs the answer?

This review assessed homogeneous photodriven advanced oxidation processes as tertiary treatment options for urban wastewater, finding they offer promising but conditional performance for removing micropollutants including those associated with plastic additives.

2022 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Alteration in microbial community and antibiotic resistance genes mediated by microplastics during wastewater ultraviolet disinfection

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics altered microbial community composition and antibiotic resistance gene profiles during UV disinfection of urban wastewater, with certain microplastic concentrations enhancing the survival of specific antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating Microplastic Effects on Performance and Electrochemistry of Microbial Fuel Cells for Wastewater Treatment

Researchers evaluated how microplastics affect the performance of microbial fuel cells used for wastewater treatment. They found that low concentrations of microplastics actually improved chemical oxygen demand reduction and power production compared to wastewater without microplastics. However, at higher concentrations the beneficial effects diminished, suggesting that microplastic levels in wastewater could influence the efficiency of bioelectrochemical treatment systems.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Toxic and Radioactive Waste 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of polyethylene microplastics on the disinfection of Escherichia coli by sodium hypochlorite

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics affect the disinfection of Escherichia coli by sodium hypochlorite under varying pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter conditions. They found that PE microplastics adsorbed roughly 1.5 log of E. coli within 30 seconds, providing physical protection that reduced inactivation efficiency by approximately 1 log compared to particle-free conditions, posing a potential challenge for water treatment disinfection.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Norfloxacin removal by ultraviolet-activated sodium percarbonate and sodium hypochlorite: process optimization and anion effect

This paper is not about microplastics; it evaluates UV-activated chemical processes for removing the antibiotic norfloxacin from water.

2023 Water Science & Technology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban wastewater disinfection by FeCl3-activated biochar/peroxymonosulfate system: Escherichia coli inactivation and microplastics interference

This study evaluated FeCl3-activated biochar combined with peroxymonosulfate as a system for urban wastewater disinfection, assessing pathogen removal efficiency and identifying reactive species responsible for bacterial inactivation.

2024 Environmental Pollution 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced oxidation processes for the degradation of microplastics from the environment: A review

This review of 54 studies found that advanced oxidation processes including UV photocatalysis, Fenton reactions, and sonolysis can successfully degrade microplastics in water, with all reviewed techniques achieving satisfying performance in degrading various plastic types.

2023 Water and Environment Journal 17 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of ozonation on PET and PVC microplastics in model urban wastewater

Researchers investigated the effects of 6-hour ozonation treatment on PET and PVC microplastics in model urban wastewater, evaluating ozonation as an advanced oxidation process for microplastic degradation and assessing changes in polymer structure and surface chemistry for both plastic types.

2025 Global NEST International Conference on Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Transformation of Traditional Wastewater Treatment Methods into Advanced Oxidation Processes and the Role of Ozonation

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it reviews advanced oxidation processes with a focus on ozonation for wastewater treatment, covering microbial inactivation and degradation of organic pollutants.

2023 Journal of Ecological Engineering 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Ozonation and its Application in Wastewater Treatment

Not relevant to microplastics — this review covers ozonation and catalytic ozonation as wastewater disinfection and organic pollutant degradation technologies, with no focus on microplastic contamination.

2023 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research 1 citations