Papers

20 results
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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

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

Reactivity of four model microplastics with ozone.

Researchers investigated the reactivity of four model microplastic types with ozone, examining how ozone treatment affects the physicochemical properties of microplastics as a potential water treatment strategy for degrading plastic particles.

2025 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Ozone-mediated breakdown of microplastics in aqueous environments

Researchers examined how ozone-based advanced oxidation processes break down microplastics in water treatment settings. They found that while ozone can degrade certain plastics, the effectiveness varies depending on particle size, polymer type, and treatment conditions, and the process may generate nanoplastic byproducts. The study highlights both the promise and limitations of ozone treatment as a strategy for removing microplastics from wastewater.

2025 Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Degradation in Water: A Review of Advanced Oxidative Processes and Ozonation for Effective Treatment

This review examines advanced oxidative processes (AOPs) and ozonation as emerging technologies for degrading microplastics in drinking water and aquatic environments, covering both identification and quantification methods alongside treatment efficacy. The authors assess the challenges and capabilities of these approaches in addressing the growing concern over microplastic contamination in water supplies.

2025 Asian Journal of Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Estudo da degradação de microplásticos em água e efluente secundário de estação de tratamento de esgoto por processos baseados em ozônio

This Brazilian study tested ozone-based water treatment processes for degrading polyethylene microplastics in both clean water and secondary wastewater effluent. While ozonation could break down microplastics into smaller fragments and dissolved organic carbon, it did not fully eliminate them, suggesting the need for combined treatment approaches.

2022 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

The effect of Ozonation on the chemical structure of microplastics

Ozone treatment of microplastics in water caused oxidative changes to polymer surfaces including carbonyl group formation and surface cracking, which altered hydrophobicity and potentially increased the capacity of treated particles to adsorb contaminants, suggesting that ozonation in water treatment may chemically transform rather than eliminate microplastic hazards.

2021 IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Changes in physical and chemical properties of microplastics by ozonation

Researchers examined how ozone treatment in water systems changes the physical and chemical properties of six common types of microplastics. They found that ozonation altered surface roughness, wettability, and chemical composition of the plastics, with some types being more affected than others. The findings are important because these changes could influence how microplastics interact with other pollutants and organisms in treated water.

2024 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Organic Micropollutants and Microplastics via Ozonation Followed by Granular Activated Carbon Filtration

A pilot ozonation and granular activated carbon filtration system at a German wastewater treatment plant removed over 80% of organic micropollutants and transformation products, but had minimal impact on microplastic concentrations, indicating a gap in treatment efficacy.

2024 Environments 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Physicochemical changes in microplastics and formation of DBPs under ozonation

Researchers examined physicochemical changes in thermoplastic polyurethane and polyethylene microplastics during ozonation water treatment, finding that the process can alter microplastic morphology and potentially generate disinfection byproducts.

2023 Chemosphere 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on the removal of trace organic compounds during ozonation: Oxidation and adsorption of trace organic compounds and byproducts

Microplastics were found to interfere with the ozonation of trace organic compounds in water treatment, with plastic surfaces adsorbing both target pollutants and ozonation byproducts, potentially reducing treatment effectiveness and creating new exposure pathways.

2021 Environmental Pollution 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and Distribution of Emerging Contaminants: Ozonolytic Removal in Aqueous Matrices

This review examines emerging contaminants (ECs) -- including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides -- across multiple environmental habitats, and assesses ozonolysis as a removal strategy for EC-contaminated aqueous matrices. The authors evaluate ozone-based treatment efficiency across contaminant classes and discuss conditions that optimize removal of both chemical pollutants and associated microplastic particles.

2024 ACS symposium series 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effective Removal of Microplastics Using a Process of Ozonation Followed by Flocculation with Aluminum Sulfate and Polyacrylamide

Researchers tested a two-step water treatment process combining ozonation with flocculation to remove microplastics. They found that ozone pretreatment roughened the microplastic surfaces and added chemical groups that dramatically improved removal rates, from 40% to 91%, during the subsequent flocculation step. The findings suggest this combined approach could significantly enhance microplastic removal in conventional water treatment plants.

2025 Separations 3 citations
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

Effects of microplastics on water disinfection and formation of disinfection by-products

This review examines how the presence of microplastics in drinking water and wastewater interferes with chlorination and ozonation disinfection processes, potentially reducing their effectiveness and generating harmful disinfection by-products. Microplastics can leach dissolved organic carbon that reacts with disinfectants, and they serve as refuges for antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may survive standard treatment. The authors call for more realistic laboratory experiments and field studies to properly assess the real-world risks that microplastics pose inside water treatment plants.

2025 Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Ozonation and Anaerobic Digestion on the Physicochemical Properties of Low-Density Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Polyamide 66 Microplastics

Scientists tested whether ozone treatment could help break down tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) that build up in wastewater treatment plants. The ozone changed the surface chemistry of the plastics and made them less stable, but didn't actually reduce the amount of plastic particles. This research is important because microplastics from wastewater can end up in our food and water, so finding better ways to remove or break them down could help protect human health.

2026 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Ozonation facilitates the aging and mineralization of polyethylene microplastics from water: Behavior, mechanisms, and pathways

Ozonation was shown to accelerate the aging and partial mineralization of polyethylene microplastics, with surface oxidation creating more reactive particles susceptible to further degradation. The study provides mechanistic insight into how advanced oxidation processes could contribute to microplastic breakdown in water treatment.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 56 citations
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

Refining Microbubble Ozonation Processes for Polyester Microplastic Removal: Optimization and Kinetic Analysis

Researchers optimized microbubble ozonation for removing polyester microplastics from synthetic textile effluent, using a COD-based quantification approach to track degradation efficiency under varying ozone dose and contact time conditions.

2025 CLEAN - Soil Air Water
Article Tier 2

The Potential of Ozonation to Reduce Impact of Waste Sludge-Entrapped Microplastics to Biogas Production

Wastewater treatment plants concentrate microplastics from sewage into the resulting sludge, and this study tested whether ozonation could reduce the harm those microplastics cause during anaerobic digestion used to produce biogas. The findings showed that PET and polypropylene microplastics alter methane yields from sludge digestion in concentration-dependent ways, and that ozone pretreatment partially mitigates the inhibition caused by polypropylene — though the interactions are complex and require further optimization before widespread use.

2024 Ozone Science and Engineering 3 citations