Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Wastewater Treatment by Constructed Wetland Eco-Technology: Influence of Mineral and Plastic Materials as Filter Media and Tropical Ornamental Plants

Constructed wetlands using ornamental plants effectively removed chemical pollutants from wastewater, and the presence of plastic residues in the growing medium affected treatment performance. This finding is relevant to understanding how microplastics in constructed wetlands may interfere with natural water purification processes.

2019 Water 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Identification in Domestic Wastewater-Treating Constructed Wetlands and Its Potential Usage in a Circular Economy

Researchers identified and characterized microplastics in constructed wetlands used for treating domestic wastewater, finding MP accumulation in the substrate and plants and assessing how well these nature-based treatment systems retain plastic particles before effluent is discharged.

2025 Processes
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on the Removal of Contaminants from Wastewater by Constructed Wetland Substrate: A Review

This review examines how different substrate materials used in constructed wetlands affect the removal of pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater. Researchers found that substrate selection is critical to wetland performance but is often based on personal experience rather than scientific evidence. The study provides guidance on choosing substrates with optimal physical and chemical properties to improve wastewater treatment efficiency.

2024 Water 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Retention of microplastics by interspersed lagoons in both natural and constructed wetlands

Researchers used laboratory wetland models to test how well constructed wetlands with interspersed lagoons and aquatic vegetation can capture microplastic particles from water. Combining vegetated patches with a lagoon achieved microplastic retention rates of up to 99%, suggesting that nature-based wetland designs could be an effective low-cost strategy for filtering microplastics out of wastewater and rivers before they reach the ocean.

2023 Journal of Water Process Engineering 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and removal of microplastics in unplanted lab-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands

Laboratory-scale unplanted vertical flow constructed wetlands were shown to remove microplastics from wastewater, with removal efficiency influenced by particle size, shape, and flow rate, highlighting constructed wetlands as a nature-based option for microplastic mitigation.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics profile in constructed wetlands: Distribution, retention and implications

This study assessed microplastic distribution, retention, and implications within constructed wetlands used for wastewater treatment, finding that wetlands trap substantial quantities of MPs but that retention efficiency varies by plant species and wetland design. The results suggest constructed wetlands both remove and potentially accumulate MPs as a secondary pollution source.

2022 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics occurrence and fate in full-scale treatment wetlands

Researchers assessed microplastic occurrence and fate across full-scale treatment wetlands, finding that constructed wetlands effectively remove a significant proportion of MPs from wastewater but that removal efficiency varies with wetland design and MP characteristics.

2023 Water Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and removal of microplastics in a horizontal sub-surface flow laboratory constructed wetland and their effects on the treatment efficiency

Researchers investigated microplastic retention in a laboratory-scale constructed wetland, finding that the wetland effectively captured microbeads and fibers while examining how accumulated microplastics affected the treatment efficiency for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus removal.

2023 Chemical Engineering Journal 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding microplastic retention in surface flow constructed wetlands: The impact of aquatic macrophytes

This study tested how well constructed wetlands with different aquatic plants retain three common types of microplastics: polyethylene beads, tire wear particles, and synthetic fibers. Plants with complex leaf structures trapped more microplastics than simpler plants or unvegetated areas. The findings suggest that planted wetlands could serve as a nature-based solution for filtering microplastics from water before they reach rivers and drinking water sources.

2025 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Plant Based Application for Microplastic Removal in Constructed Wetlands: A Mini Review

This mini-review examines how wetland plants in constructed wetlands capture and degrade microplastics through physical entrapment, root-zone interactions, and microbial activity, assessing operational factors that determine removal efficiency.

2025 NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research
Article Tier 2

An examination of Nature-Based Solutions’ ability to retain New and Emerging Pollutants – Preliminary results from a UK field test

Researchers conducted a UK field test of nature-based solutions to evaluate their ability to retain new and emerging pollutants, including microplastics, from stormwater in informal settlements lacking formal drainage infrastructure. Preliminary results indicate that constructed wetland-type systems can intercept a range of contaminants that persist through conventional treatment, though performance varied across pollutant classes.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Abundance, characteristics, and removal of microplastics in the Cihu Lake-wetland microcosm system

This study evaluated how well a multi-stage constructed wetland system could remove microplastics from wastewater treatment plant effluent, finding a total removal rate of 94.7%. Horizontal subsurface flow wetlands were particularly effective, and physical filtration through the wetland substrate was identified as the dominant removal mechanism. The findings suggest that constructed wetlands are a promising nature-based solution for reducing microplastic discharge into aquatic environments.

2023 Water Science & Technology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of biofilter performance with alternative local biomedia in pilot scale recirculating aquaculture systems

Researchers compared five locally available natural biofilter media against commercial plastic media in recirculating aquaculture systems, finding that some natural alternatives performed comparably while avoiding the cost and microplastic shedding associated with conventional plastic biofilter materials.

2022 Journal of Cleaner Production 27 citations
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastics from municipal wastewater in a surface flow treatment wetland

Researchers investigated microplastic retention in a full-scale surface flow treatment wetland receiving municipal wastewater, measuring microplastic concentrations in inflow, outflow, and atmospheric deposition, and finding significant retention within the wetland. Treatment wetlands represent a potential nature-based solution for reducing microplastic discharge to receiving water bodies.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastics/nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) in constructed wetlands: Addressing methodological gaps and experimental challenges from lab-scale to full-scale

This review examines the effectiveness of constructed wetlands for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water, comparing laboratory and full-scale results. Researchers found that while constructed wetlands show promising removal capabilities, the unique physical and chemical properties of plastic particles mean that lab-scale efficiencies may differ significantly from real-world performance, highlighting the need for more field-scale studies.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging of Microplasticsacross a Constructed Wetland

Researchers tracked the aging of five microplastic polymer types — LDPE, HDPE, polypropylene, polystyrene, and PET — across four habitats within a wastewater constructed wetland over 18 months, finding that physical, chemical, and biological processes jointly drive weathering and microorganism colonisation of plastics in these treatment systems.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on the treatment performance of constructed wetlands: Based on substrate characteristics and microbial activities

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastic accumulation in constructed wetlands initially improved nitrogen removal efficiency but ultimately impaired treatment performance over a 370-day experiment, altering substrate characteristics and microbial community activities.

2022 Water Research 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Sewage Derived Microplastic and Anthropogenic Fibre Retention by Integrated Constructed Wetlands

Researchers assessed microplastic and anthropogenic fibre retention efficiency of two integrated constructed wetlands in Norfolk, UK, collecting monthly water samples at inlets and outlets over 12 months to evaluate whether these low-cost treatment systems can effectively reduce MP loads discharged from small wastewater treatment plants.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic residues in wetland ecosystems: Do they truly threaten the plant-microbe-soil system?

Researchers used a controlled pot experiment to assess microplastic effects on wetland plant growth, soil microbial communities, and nutrient cycling, finding that MPs altered soil enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition but had variable effects on plant growth depending on plastic type.

2021 Environment International 238 citations
Article Tier 2

Horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands as tertiary treatment: Can they be an efficient barrier for microplastics pollution?

Horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands used as tertiary wastewater treatment removed 88% of microplastics from secondary effluent, contributing to an overall 98% reduction across the full treatment plant. Macroinvertebrates living in the wetland also ingested microplastics, suggesting biological uptake plays a role in plastic retention within the wetland ecosystem.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 155 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microfiber in vertical flow constructed wetlands treating greywater

Researchers demonstrated that a vertical flow constructed wetland planted with Zantedeschia aethiopica effectively removed microfibers from laundry greywater over five months, supporting nature-based constructed wetlands as a viable low-tech solution for microplastic filtration.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic removal and risk assessment framework in a constructed wetland for the treatment of combined sewer overflows

Researchers assessed microplastic removal performance in a full-scale constructed wetland treating combined sewer overflows and developed a risk assessment framework for these events. They found that the wetland effectively reduced microplastic concentrations, though removal rates varied across different overflow events. The study provides evidence that constructed wetlands can serve as a practical nature-based solution for mitigating microplastic pollution from urban sewer systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Funktion hos enskilda anläggningar och en grön vägg för behandling av bad-, disk- och tvättvatten

This Swedish thesis examines the performance of decentralized greywater treatment systems including constructed wetlands and green walls, assessing their ability to remove pollutants including microplastics from household wastewater.

2023 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics removal and characteristics of a typical multi-combination and multi-stage constructed wetlands wastewater treatment plant in Changsha, China

Researchers evaluated microplastic removal efficiency in a multi-stage constructed wetland wastewater treatment plant in China, finding that the combined treatment processes achieved significant microplastic reduction across successive stages, with constructed wetlands proving effective as a polishing step for microplastic removal.

2022 Chemosphere 27 citations