Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Environmental remediation approaches by nanoscale zero valent iron (nZVI) based on its reductivity: a review

This review covers how nanoscale zero-valent iron particles can be used to clean up contaminated wastewater through chemical reduction of pollutants like heavy metals and organic compounds. While not directly about microplastics, these remediation technologies are relevant because they represent advanced approaches to treating the kinds of contaminated water that often also contains microplastic pollution.

2024 RSC Advances 66 citations
Review Tier 2

How Do Micro‐ and Nanoplastics (MNPs) Affect Contaminant Removal by Nano Zero‐Valent Iron (nZVI) in Water and Soil?: A Review

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics interfere with nano zero-valent iron (nZVI), a widely used material for cleaning up contaminated groundwater and soil, finding that plastic particles typically reduce nZVI's effectiveness by clogging reactive sites and causing premature aging. The finding matters because it suggests that microplastic contamination at remediation sites could undermine cleanup efforts for other pollutants like heavy metals and organic compounds, requiring modified iron formulations (such as sulfidated nZVI) to maintain performance.

2026 CLEAN - Soil Air Water
Article Tier 2

Mini review on the application research of nanoscale zero valent iron in water treatment

This mini-review covers nanoscale zero valent iron (nZVI) particles as tools for environmental pollution control, capable of adsorbing and chemically reducing heavy metals and organic contaminants in water. These nanomaterials are also being explored for microplastic removal and the breakdown of plastic-associated chemical pollutants in water treatment.

2023 Proceedings of International Exchange and Innovation Conference on Engineering & Sciences (IEICES) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Heavy metal remediation by nano zero-valent iron in the presence of microplastics in groundwater: Inhibition and induced promotion on aging effects

Researchers found that microplastics in groundwater significantly influenced the performance of nano zero-valent iron used for heavy metal remediation, with some microplastic types inhibiting and others promoting the aging and reactivity of the nanomaterial depending on polymer type and concentration.

2021 Environmental Pollution 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances in Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (nZVI)-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs): Applications, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects

This review covers how tiny iron particles called nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) can be used to break down organic pollutants in water through advanced chemical reactions. These methods show promise for cleaning up contaminated environments, including water sources affected by plastic-related and other industrial pollutants. The technology is cost-effective and environmentally friendly, though challenges remain in scaling it up.

2023 Nanomaterials 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergetic Interactions of Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (nZVI) and Anaerobic Bacteria in Groundwater Remediation: A Review

This review examines how combinations of zero-valent iron nanoparticles and anaerobic bacteria can work together to break down halogenated organic compounds and heavy metals that contaminate groundwater from industrial activities. This synergistic bioremediation approach offers promise as a more effective and cost-efficient alternative to conventional groundwater cleanup methods.

2022 Eurasian Journal of Science and Engineering
Article Tier 2

Driving synergistic Fe-N-Plastic co-metabolism and functional microbial symbiosis via nZVI@RA for enhanced decontamination in constructed wetlands

Researchers developed a recycled aggregate-supported nano-zero valent iron material (nZVI@RA) and demonstrated that it profoundly reshapes microbial communities in constructed wetlands to enhance synergistic iron, nitrogen, and nanoplastic co-metabolism, improving simultaneous decontamination performance.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Peer Review #2 of "Zero-valent iron nanoparticles for environmental Hg (II) removal: a review (v0.2)"

Not relevant to microplastics — this is a peer review document for a paper on using zero-valent iron nanoparticles to remove mercury contamination from soil and water environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

Modeling and Parametric Simulation of Microplastic Transport in Groundwater Environments

Researchers developed a parametric simulation model specifically for microplastic transport in groundwater environments, addressing the inadequacy of existing dissolved-contaminant models for studying particulate plastic pollution in subsurface systems.

2021 Applied Sciences 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Sulfidated Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (S-nZVI) Facilitates Remediation and Safe Crop Production in Cr(VI) and Microplastics Co-contaminated Soil

Researchers tested sulfidated nanoscale zero-valent iron as a way to clean up agricultural soil contaminated with both chromium and microplastics. The treatment effectively reduced toxic chromium levels and helped trap microplastics, making it safer to grow crops in the contaminated soil. The study offers a promising approach for addressing the growing problem of combined heavy metal and microplastic contamination in farmland.

2025 ACS ES&T Engineering 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Improved Cadmium Removal Induced by Interaction of Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron and Microplastics Debris

Researchers investigated how PVC microplastics interact with nanoscale zero-valent iron used to remove cadmium from contaminated water. The presence of microplastics actually enhanced cadmium removal, likely due to adsorption on the plastic surface. These findings are relevant because PVC production uses cadmium compounds, meaning both pollutants may co-occur in real environments.

2023 Journal of Environmental Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinctive adsorption and desorption behaviors of temporal and post-treatment heavy metals by iron nanoparticles in the presence of microplastics

Microplastics inhibited adsorption of most heavy metals by nano-zero-valent iron and facilitated their desorption during post-treatment, with the effect primarily affecting metals binding through surface complexation or electrostatic interaction rather than metals involved in redox reactions, providing insights for improved contaminated site remediation.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling of Microplastics Migration in Soil and Groundwater: Insights into Dispersion and Particle Property Effects

Researchers developed a mathematical model to predict how microplastics move through soil and into groundwater, accounting for particle size, shape, and water flow conditions. The model shows that smaller and rounder microplastics travel farther and deeper into groundwater systems, which is important for predicting contamination risks to drinking water wells.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Physics-based and data-driven strategies for simulating colloid behavior in fractured aquifer systems

This thesis developed physics-based and data-driven models for simulating how colloids — particles in the microplastic size range — move through fractured aquifer systems. Understanding subsurface transport of small particles is important for predicting how microplastics might move through groundwater.

2019 MacSphere (McMaster University)
Article Tier 2

The influence of various microplastics on PBDEs contaminated soil remediation by nZVI and sulfide-nZVI: Impedance, electron-accepting/-donating capacity and aging

PVC, PS, and PP microplastics in contaminated soil inhibited the degradation of the brominated flame retardant BDE209 by nano-zero-valent iron and sulfided nZVI to varying degrees, with inhibition linked to microplastic impedance and electron-accepting capacity, while microplastics themselves showed aging and fragmentation during the remediation process.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in groundwater: a global analysis

Researchers conducted a global groundwater sampling study to characterize microplastic contamination in aquifer systems worldwide, investigating transport mechanisms and fate of particles in anoxic subsurface environments where knowledge gaps remain despite extensive research on surface water systems.

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

Nanonet trapping for effective removal of nanoplastics by iron coagulation

Scientists developed a new iron-based water treatment method that creates tiny net-like structures capable of trapping and removing nanoplastics that conventional water treatment cannot filter out. This approach works effectively in real-world water samples and could be adopted by existing water treatment plants, offering a practical way to reduce nanoplastic contamination in drinking water.

2025 Nature Communications 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Remediation of Micropalstic-heavy Metal Cocontaminated Soils Using Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron Supported on Palygorskite: Mechanisms and Effectiveness

Researchers developed a remediation approach for soils co-contaminated with microplastics and heavy metals using nanoscale zero-valent iron supported on palygorskite. The composite material effectively inhibited microplastic migration in soil and reduced heavy metal mobility, with the microplastic content in deeper soil layers remaining at only about 8% of initial levels after treatment.

2025 Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Carboxymethylcellulose-modified nano-zero-valent iron (C-nZVI) promotes ryegrass phytoremediation of cadmium in sediments co-contaminated with multiple microplastics: Mechanisms revealed by PLS-PM

A study found that applying carboxymethylcellulose-modified nano-zero-valent iron (C-nZVI) to soils co-contaminated with cadmium and six types of microplastics significantly boosted ryegrass growth and cadmium uptake while stabilising the metal in a less bioavailable form in the sediment. The results suggest C-nZVI could help rehabilitate agricultural soils facing the increasingly common problem of simultaneous microplastic and heavy-metal pollution.

2026 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Response Surface and Artificial Neural Network for Cr(Ⅵ) Removal Column Experiment

Despite its title referencing chromium removal, this paper focuses on using nano zero-valent iron loaded onto cellulose filter paper to remove hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from contaminated water — not microplastics. It applies response surface methodology and artificial neural network modeling to optimize the process and is not relevant to microplastic pollution or human health.

2025 Water 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface wettability control and electron transport regulation in zerovalent iron for enhanced removal of emerging polystyrene microplastics-heavy metal contaminants

Researchers developed a specially engineered iron-based material that can simultaneously remove microplastics and heavy metals from wastewater by combining a water-repelling outer layer with efficient electron transfer at its core. In tests, the material removed over 99% of polystyrene microplastics and prevented the secondary release of heavy metals that often ride along on plastic particles. This addresses the concern that microplastics act as a "Trojan horse," carrying toxic metals into water supplies and living organisms.

2024 Water Research 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative Linking of Nanoscale Interactions to Continuum-Scale Nanoparticle and Microplastic Transport in Environmental Granular Media

Researchers successfully linked the atomic-scale forces between plastic nanoparticles and sand grains to predictions of how those particles move through soil and groundwater at larger scales. This advances the ability to model microplastic transport in the environment, which is important for assessing contamination of drinking water sources.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoremediation: A New and Emerging Technology

This chapter reviews nanoremediation -- the use of engineered nanoparticles to clean up contaminated soil and water -- and notes that nano- and microplastic pollution is an emerging contaminant that these technologies could help address. The author discusses how carbon nanotubes, zero-valent iron, and magnetic nanoparticles can remove organic pollutants and metals, and suggests these same approaches may have promise for removing microplastics from the environment. The technology is still in early stages and relatively expensive.

2023 Apple Academic Press eBooks 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics transport during Managed Aquifer Recharge – A potential cause of groundwater contamination?

Researchers measured microplastics at multiple stages of a major managed aquifer recharge system in Switzerland and found that plastic particles from the Rhine River can penetrate through the treatment process into pumped groundwater, raising concerns about drinking water quality.

2023