Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Characteristics and removal of microplastics in urban domestic WWTP system: A case study in Bandung city, Indonesia

Four communal wastewater treatment plants in Bandung, Indonesia had high incoming microplastic concentrations averaging 537.5 particles/L, with fibers (52%) and particles 1,001–5,000 µm dominant, but showed partial removal efficiency during treatment.

2024 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Abundance and removal of microplastics in sewerage treatment plants: A case study of Ujung Menteng Flat House

Researchers evaluated microplastic characteristics and removal efficiency at the Ujung Menteng Flat House Sewerage Treatment Plant in Indonesia, sampling from influent, activated sludge, and effluent to assess how effectively existing wastewater infrastructure — not designed for microplastic removal — reduces contamination.

2025 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

Characterization and Removal of Microplastics in Different Stages of Wastewater Treatment Plants

This review examines the types, shapes, and sizes of microplastics found in domestic and industrial wastewaters and evaluates the removal efficiency of different treatment processes across wastewater treatment plant stages, noting that no existing process achieves 100% removal.

2024
Article Tier 2

Distribution and occurrence of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants

Researchers investigated microplastic distribution in three industrial wastewater treatment plants in Vietnam, finding average removal efficiencies of only 21-26%, with billions of microplastic particles discharged daily into receiving waters from the largest plant.

2022 Environmental Technology & Innovation 119 citations
Article Tier 2

Research progress on microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: A holistic review

This review provides a holistic assessment of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, covering sampling methods, occurrence patterns across treatment stages, removal efficiencies, and the environmental risks posed by microplastic discharge through effluent and sludge.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and Removal of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Perspectives on Shape, Type, and Density

Researchers compiled data from multiple countries on microplastic removal efficiency across different stages of wastewater treatment plants. They found that removal rates varied widely, from 48% in some facilities to over 90% in others, depending on the treatment technologies employed. The study suggests that while conventional wastewater treatment can capture a significant portion of microplastics, advanced tertiary treatment methods are needed to further reduce discharge into the environment.

2024 Water 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of microplastic removal efficiency of wastewater-treatment plants in a developing country, Vietnam

Researchers evaluated microplastic removal efficiency at four wastewater treatment plants in Vietnam, finding removal rates of 92-99% but substantial daily microplastic loads still entering receiving waters through effluent discharge.

2023 Environmental Technology & Innovation 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of wastewater treatment process on pollution characteristics and fate of microplastics

Researchers investigated microplastic abundance and removal efficiency across four wastewater treatment plants using different treatment technologies, finding influent concentrations between 539 and 1,290 particles per liter that were reduced substantially by primary and secondary treatment. Smaller microplastic particles proved hardest to remove and most likely to persist in final effluent.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of different treatment processes in four municipal wastewater treatment plants on the transport and fate of microplastics

Researchers investigated microplastic transport and fate across four municipal wastewater treatment plants in southeastern China, finding that different treatment processes varied in their microplastic removal efficiency, with fibers and fragments as the dominant types.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Study of occurrence, abundance, and characterization of microplastics in wastewater treatment plant in New Delhi, India

Researchers quantified microplastic prevalence in influent, treated effluent, and sludge from a wastewater treatment plant in New Delhi, finding that MPs are present throughout the treatment process and that the plant incompletely removes them, discharging MPs into receiving waters.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Article Tier 2

A study on characteristics of microplastic in wastewater of South Korea: Identification, quantification, and fate of microplastics during treatment process

Microplastics were tracked through three South Korean wastewater treatment plants with different tertiary treatment methods, finding 75–92% removal by primary and secondary treatment and over 98% removal after tertiary treatment. The study confirms that advanced treatment steps are necessary to approach near-complete microplastic removal from municipal wastewater.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 555 citations
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: An overview of source and remediation technologies

This review examines how wastewater treatment plants serve as key pathways for microplastic entry into the environment, analyzing removal efficiencies across different treatment stages and identifying advanced technologies for improved microplastic remediation.

2022 Environmental Technology & Innovation 159 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, Characteristics, and Removal of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants

This review summarizes the occurrence, characteristics, and removal efficiency of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, highlighting how these facilities simultaneously act as sinks trapping microplastics and as sources releasing them into surrounding aquatic and terrestrial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Fate and occurrence of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants

This review summarizes recent research on the abundance and removal of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, examining how different treatment stages capture or release microplastic particles and assessing the overall efficiency of current infrastructure.

2023 Environmental Science Advances 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances on microplastics pollution and removal from wastewater systems: A critical review

This review summarizes the latest research on microplastic detection, occurrence, and removal in wastewater treatment plants. While treatment plants can remove 57-99% of microplastics depending on the stage, significant amounts still escape into the environment through treated water and sludge. The findings highlight the need for advanced treatment methods to prevent microplastics from reaching waterways and ultimately human water supplies.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Effectiveness of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants in microplastics removal: Insights from multiple analytical techniques

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants in removing microplastics across multiple treatment stages, finding removal efficiencies of 70–90% but documenting that billions of particles still pass through in final effluent daily.

2025 Journal of Environmental Sciences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics via wastewater treatment plants in india: Current knowledge and future directions: a review

This review examined the capacity of wastewater treatment plants in India to remove microplastics, synthesizing current knowledge on removal efficiencies and identifying major knowledge gaps and future research priorities. While WWTPs remove a substantial fraction of incoming microplastics, effluents still discharge particles into receiving water bodies, and sludge represents a concentrated secondary contamination pathway.

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

Distribution characteristics of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants in mega cities–the case study of Chengdu City

Researchers studied microplastic distribution and removal across wastewater treatment plant processes in China, finding that WWTPs intercept large quantities of MPs before discharge but that residual concentrations in effluent still represent a significant pathway for environmental MP release.

2025 Scientific Reports 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics via wastewater treatment plants in india: Current knowledge and future directions: a review

This review assessed the capacity of wastewater treatment plants in India to remove microplastics, summarizing current knowledge on treatment efficiency, polymer types retained versus discharged, and the role of sludge as a secondary contamination pathway. The review found that Indian WWTPs remove a large fraction of incoming microplastics but still release particles into receiving water bodies, and identified priority research needs.

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

Wastewater treatment plants as a pathway for microplastics: Development of a new approach to sample wastewater-based microplastics

Researchers developed a new sampling and monitoring protocol for microplastics at wastewater treatment plants, enabling more consistent tracking of microplastic loads through treatment stages and discharged effluent.

2017 Water Research 1317 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding microplastic presence in different wastewater treatment processes: Removal efficiency and source identification

Researchers tracked microplastic removal across different treatment stages at two wastewater treatment plants and found overall removal rates of 90% and 97%. They discovered that population density in the served area was a bigger driver of influent microplastic levels than sewage volume, and that activated sludge served as the primary trap for captured particles. The study identified laundry washing and daily consumer products as the main sources of microplastics entering the treatment plants.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Sources, properties, removal efficiency, removal mechanisms, and interactions with pollutants

This review examines microplastic sources, properties, removal efficiency, and removal mechanisms across different wastewater treatment plant stages. Researchers found that while treatment plants remove a significant portion of microplastics, they cannot eliminate them entirely, resulting in the continued release of millions of particles into the environment daily through effluent and sludge.

2023 Water Science & Technology 128 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Characteristics, Occurrence and Removal Technologies

This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants are a major pathway for microplastics entering the environment, covering the types, sizes, and sources of microplastics found in wastewater. While treatment plants can remove many microplastics, significant amounts still escape into rivers and oceans through treated water and sludge. The authors evaluate various removal technologies and recommend advanced treatment methods to better prevent microplastics from reaching water supplies.

2024 Water 46 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants in Türkiye: Characteristics, removal efficiency, mitigation strategies for microplastic pollution and future perspective

This review comprehensively examines microplastic pollution in wastewater treatment plants across Turkiye, analyzing their characteristics, abundance, and removal efficiency. Researchers found that while treatment plants remove a significant portion of microplastics, effluent discharge still represents an important source of microplastic contamination to aquatic environments.

2024 Water Science & Technology 16 citations