Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Aging Behavior of Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics by UV/Sodium Percarbonate Oxidation: Efficiency and Mechanism

Researchers investigated how UV-activated sodium percarbonate breaks down PVC microplastics, finding effective dechlorination and fragmentation after 35 hours of treatment. The study identified hydroxyl and carbonate radicals as the primary agents driving the aging process, providing insights into how advanced oxidation could be used to treat microplastic-contaminated wastewater.

2024 Water 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of UV light on physicochemical changes in thermoplastic polyurethanes: Mechanism and disinfection byproduct formation

Researchers examined how UV light exposure changes the properties of thermoplastic polyurethane microplastics in water and whether those changes affect the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts during water chlorination. They found that UV exposure broke the plastic into smaller fragments and released soluble chemicals that significantly increased byproduct formation after chlorination. The findings suggest that aging microplastics in water systems could contribute to the creation of potentially harmful chemicals during standard water treatment.

2024 Chemosphere 4 citations
Article Tier 2

UV aging of microplastic polymers promotes their chemical transformation and byproduct formation upon chlorination

Researchers studied how UV aging of different microplastic polymers affects their behavior during water chlorination treatment. They found that UV aging significantly increased the reactivity of polyamide and polyester microplastics, promoting the release of harmful organic compounds and the formation of disinfection byproducts by more than 10-fold. The study reveals that weathered microplastics in drinking water systems may generate more toxic byproducts during standard chlorination than their pristine counterparts.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastics on the breakthrough behavior of dissolved organic matter in carbon filtration column

Polystyrene microplastics can interfere with the performance of activated carbon water filters — a widely used step in drinking water treatment. This study found that when microplastics are present, they compete with humic acid (a natural organic compound) for adsorption sites on the carbon, causing more humic acid to pass through the filter — which in turn can increase formation of harmful disinfection byproducts when the water is subsequently chlorinated. The effect changes when microplastics have been weathered by UV light, making the interactions in real-world water treatment even more complex than previously understood.

2025 Environmental Technology & Innovation 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of non-aged and UV-aged microplastics on the formation of halogenated disinfection byproducts during chlorination of drinking water and its mechanism

Researchers investigated how both new and UV-aged microplastics affect the formation of halogenated disinfection byproducts during chlorine treatment of drinking water. They found that non-aged microplastics reduced byproduct formation by adsorbing organic precursors, while UV-aged microplastics had a much smaller reduction effect because they release organic compounds that offset adsorption. The study reveals that environmental aging of microplastics changes their impact on drinking water treatment chemistry in important ways.

2024 Environmental Pollution 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of photochlorination on the physicochemical transformation of polystyrene nanoplastics: Mechanism and environmental fate

Researchers studied how sunlight combined with chlorine in water treatment changes the properties of polystyrene nanoplastics. They found that solar irradiation significantly accelerated the chemical breakdown of the nanoplastics, including surface oxidation and the release of organic compounds. The study reveals that nanoplastics leaving wastewater treatment plants undergo rapid transformation in the environment, which could alter both their fate and toxicity.

2023 Water Research 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the optical and molecular characteristics of aging microplastics derived dissolved organic matter transformed by UV/chlor(am)ine oxidation and its potential for disinfection byproducts formation

Researchers studied how UV light and common water disinfection chemicals break down microplastics in water and found that different treatment methods produce different types of dissolved organic matter from the plastic. Some treatment combinations, particularly UV with chlorine, created byproducts that could form harmful disinfection byproducts when water is later chlorinated. This is important because it means water treatment processes might unintentionally create new toxic compounds from the microplastics already present in water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Volatile organic compounds generation pathways and mechanisms from microplastics in water: Ultraviolet, chlorine and ultraviolet/chlorine disinfection

Researchers examined how UV, chlorine, and combined UV/chlorine disinfection treatments cause microplastics to release volatile organic compounds, identifying distinct degradation pathways for polypropylene, polystyrene, and PVC that generate diverse chemical byproducts in treated water.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic removal from urban stormwater: Current treatments and research gaps

Researchers investigated the phototransformation of polystyrene microplastics under simulated solar radiation, finding surface oxidation and formation of carbonyl groups after UV exposure. Photo-aged particles showed increased release of dissolved organic carbon and greater toxicity to marine copepods.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Dissolved Organic Matter Promotes the Aging Process of Polystyrene Microplastics under Dark and Ultraviolet Light Conditions: The Crucial Role of Reactive Oxygen Species

Researchers found that dissolved organic matter commonly present in natural water environments accelerates the aging and degradation of polystyrene microplastics under both dark and ultraviolet light conditions. The study identified reactive oxygen species as the crucial driver of this aging process, with fulvic acid showing a stronger effect than humic acid due to its greater ability to generate semiquinone radicals.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 246 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the dynamic transformation properties of microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter and its contribution to the formation of chlorination disinfection by-products

Researchers studied how dissolved organic matter released from microplastics transforms under UV light and how it contributes to the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts during water chlorination. They found that UV exposure changed the chemical composition of the microplastic-derived organic matter, affecting its reactivity during disinfection. The findings suggest that microplastics in water sources may indirectly increase the formation of potentially harmful chemicals during standard water treatment.

2024 RSC Advances 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the effect of UVC-based advanced oxidation processes on the interaction of typical microplastics and their derived disinfection byproducts during disinfection

Scientists found that UV-based water treatment processes, while intended to clean drinking water, caused microplastics to release more organic matter and form more disinfection byproducts during chlorination. Up to 42% of the toxic byproducts formed were absorbed back onto the microplastic surfaces, creating contaminated particles. This concerning finding suggests that some common water treatment methods could unintentionally make microplastic contamination in drinking water more hazardous.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Photochemical transformation of microplastics-derived dissolved organic matter altered the photoaging of microplastics

Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter released from different microplastics (polystyrene, polyethylene, and biodegradable PBAT) affects the aging of polystyrene microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that PBAT-derived organic matter most strongly accelerated plastic photoaging.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

UV-photoaging behavior of polystyrene microplastics enhanced by thermally-activated persulfate

Researchers found that thermally-activated persulfate combined with UV irradiation significantly accelerated the photoaging of polystyrene microplastics, increasing surface cracking, size reduction, and contaminant adsorption capacity while generating more toxic aging byproducts.

2023 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Leaching of organic matter from microplastics and its role in disinfection by-product formation

Researchers found that microplastics leach organic matter into water that subsequently acts as a precursor for disinfection by-products during chlorination, with polystyrene MPs generating the most leachate and producing the most by-products compared to polyethylene MPs.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in UV/NaClO and UV/PMS Systems: Insights into Degradation Efficiency, Mechanism, and Toxicity Evaluation

Researchers tested two advanced oxidation methods for breaking down polystyrene nanoplastics in water and found that while both effectively reduced water cloudiness, neither completely destroyed the plastic particles. The UV/PMS system achieved about 29% mineralization compared to only 7% for UV/NaClO, though both generated some toxic byproducts. The study suggests that advanced oxidation processes show promise for nanoplastic removal from water but require further optimization to achieve complete degradation.

2023 Water 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater preinteraction accelerates the photoaging of disposable box-derived polystyrene microplastics in water

Researchers found that pre-exposure of polystyrene microplastics to real wastewater significantly accelerated their subsequent photoaging under UV light — doubling oxidation rates — with fulvic acid identified as the primary wastewater constituent driving this enhancement.

2022 Water Research 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the characteristics and sorption behaviors of aged polystyrene microplastics through three type of accelerated oxidation processes

Researchers studied how three different UV-based oxidation processes age polystyrene microplastics and how that aging affects the particles' ability to absorb the chemical bisphenol A. They found that aging significantly increased the surface oxidation and water-attracting properties of the microplastics, altering their pollutant-sorbing behavior. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may interact with chemical contaminants differently than fresh ones.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular characteristics and plastic additives in dissolved organic matter derived from polystyrene microplastics: Effects of cumulative irradiation and microplastic concentrations

This study investigated how ultraviolet light breaks down polystyrene microplastics and releases dissolved organic matter, including plastic additives, into the surrounding water. Greater UV exposure produced more complex chemical mixtures with higher levels of potentially toxic compounds. The findings are important because sunlight-driven breakdown of microplastics in the environment may release harmful chemicals into water sources that people use for drinking and recreation.

2025 Water Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the chemical transformation and organic release of polyurethane microplastics during chlorination

Scientists investigated what happens to polyurethane microplastics during water chlorination, a standard step in water treatment. They found that chlorination breaks down the plastic surface and releases organic chemicals, especially from UV-weathered particles, which produced significantly more leached compounds. The findings suggest that water treatment processes themselves may inadvertently release harmful byproducts from microplastics.

2023 Environmental Pollution 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of aging on the affinity between microplastics and organic contaminants

Researchers investigated how UV and UV+H2O2 aging affects the capacity of polystyrene microplastics to adsorb and release pesticides and other organic contaminants, finding that aging-induced surface changes significantly altered adsorption affinity and desorption behavior compared to unaged controls.

2025 SHAREOK (University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University; Central Oklahoma University)
Article Tier 2

Effects of UV-based oxidation processes on the degradation of microplastic: Fragmentation, organic matter release, toxicity and disinfection byproduct formation

This study examined how UV-based water treatment processes break down microplastics, finding that while the treatments fragment the plastics into smaller pieces, they also release potentially toxic organic compounds. The smaller fragments and released chemicals may actually pose greater risks than the original microplastics. This is an important finding because it suggests that some water purification methods could unintentionally make microplastic pollution more hazardous to human health.

2023 Water Research 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of ozonation on the morphological characteristics and adsorption behavior of polystyrene microplastics in aqueous environments

Researchers exposed polystyrene microplastics to ozone treatment and found that the aging process made the particles smaller, more negatively charged, and better at absorbing pollutants from water — meaning weathered microplastics in the environment may carry more harmful chemicals than fresh ones.

2025 Applied Water Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Releasing characteristics of toxic chemicals from polystyrene microplastics in the aqueous environment during photoaging process

This study revealed that as polystyrene microplastics age under UV light, they release a growing number of toxic chemicals including organic compounds and heavy metals into surrounding water. The rate of chemical release increased dramatically with aging time, meaning that weathered microplastics in the environment are more chemically hazardous than fresh ones, with implications for water quality and human exposure.

2024 Water Research 26 citations