Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Porous Asphalt Mixture with Improved Fatigue Resistance and Stormwater Pollutant Reduction in Urban Road Pavement

Not a microplastics paper — this study evaluates a highly modified porous asphalt mixture designed to improve road fatigue resistance and reduce stormwater runoff and associated pollutants in urban environments.

2023 Water 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Micropollutants in Urban Water Run-off

This study investigates the quality of urban stormwater runoff, focusing on concentrations of micropollutants including heavy metals and microplastics. The research evaluates how runoff from urban surfaces contaminates both groundwater and surface water, and assesses current stormwater management strategies in cities.

2023 International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM ...
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Potential: Selecting Optimal Materials for Physical Pools in a Pavement-Runoff-Integrated Treatment System

This paper is not about microplastics; it tests different gravel sizes and activated carbon types as filtration and adsorption materials for removing petroleum and heavy metals from pavement stormwater runoff.

2023 Water 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Análisis del comportamiento hidráulico y ambiental a largo plazo de pavimentos permeables y de su potencial para el control de microplásticos en la gestión avanzada de escorrentías urbanas

Researchers investigated the long-term hydraulic and environmental performance of permeable pavements for controlling microplastics in urban stormwater runoff, demonstrating their potential to prevent suspended solids and associated microplastic particles from reaching the environment.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastics retained in stormwater control measures: Where do they come from and where do they go?

Stormwater control measures were found to retain and accumulate microplastics from both episodic stormwater loading and continuous atmospheric deposition, raising concern that they may serve as long-term microplastic sources to groundwater through downward particle migration.

2021 Water Research 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the duality of cement and concrete addressing microplastic pollution: a review

This review explores the dual role of cement and concrete in microplastic pollution -- they can both contribute to and potentially help filter out microplastics from the environment. The research suggests that specially designed porous concrete could be used in water filtration systems to capture microplastics before they reach drinking water supplies.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 13 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence and Removal of Microplastics from Stormwater Using Green Infrastructure

This review examines microplastic occurrence in urban stormwater and the potential of green infrastructure — particularly bioretention systems and constructed wetlands — to capture and remove plastic particles before they reach surface water bodies.

2025 Water 3 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Review on the Application of Granular Filter Media and the Utilization of Agro-industrial Wastes for Stormwater Quality Improvement

This systematic review found that granular filter media including sand, biochar, and agro-industrial waste materials effectively remove heavy metals, nutrients, and suspended solids from stormwater runoff. Agricultural waste materials like coconut coir and rice husk showed promising performance as low-cost filter alternatives. These filtration approaches are relevant to microplastic pollution because stormwater is a major transport pathway for microplastics from urban surfaces to waterways, and granular filters can potentially capture microplastic particles.

2021 Jurnal Teknologi 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics accumulated in sediments of stormwater detention basins, in relation to the land use patterns in the contributing catchment.

Microplastics in stormwater detention basin sediments were characterized and linked to surrounding land use, with roads and residential areas contributing the highest concentrations and most diverse plastic types.

2023
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution risks in bioretention systems: a case study

Researchers investigated plastic pollution in urban stormwater bioretention systems and found these green infrastructure features both accumulate microplastics from road runoff and risk leaching plastic particles into groundwater, raising concerns about their role as pollution pathways.

2022 Environmental Technology 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Characterization in Stormwater: Pavement Source Evaluation and Treatment Efficiency of a Bioretention Cell

Researchers characterised microplastics in stormwater from pavement sources and evaluated the treatment efficiency of a bioretention cell, finding that pavement surfaces contribute substantially to microplastic loading and that bioretention can reduce particle concentrations.

2024 TSpace
Article Tier 2

Long-term environmental performance of precast slabs in permeable pavements: hydraulic functionality and pollutant retention in a real-life installation

Researchers assessed the long-term environmental performance of precast permeable pavement slabs in a real-world installation, finding that accumulated contaminants including microplastics build up within the porous structure over time. The study highlights the dual role of permeable pavements as both stormwater management infrastructure and a potential reservoir for pollutants requiring periodic maintenance.

2025
Article Tier 2

Permeable pavement blocks as a sustainable solution for managing microplastic pollution in urban stormwater

Researchers tested whether permeable pavement, the kind of pavement that lets water drain through it, can filter out microplastics from urban stormwater runoff. They found it can trap microplastic particles effectively, suggesting permeable pavement could be a practical tool for reducing the amount of microplastics that wash into rivers and oceans from city streets.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

The urban microplastic footprint: investigating the distribution and transport

Researchers investigated the distribution and transport of microplastics within an urban environment, mapping the 'urban microplastic footprint' to understand how city infrastructure and land use patterns drive the spatial distribution and downstream export of plastic particles to receiving water bodies.

2025
Article Tier 2

Stormwater runoff microplastics: Polymer types, particle size, and factors controlling loading rates

Researchers characterized microplastics in stormwater runoff samples collected at urban outfall locations. The study identified 17 different polymer types across various storm events, with concentrations around 0.99 particles per liter for the 500-1000 micrometer size range, and found that rainfall intensity and land use were key factors controlling microplastic loading rates.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Caractérisation des microplastiques présents dans les sédiments des bassins de retenue des eaux pluviales.

This French-language study characterizes microplastics found in the sediments of stormwater retention basins, which collect runoff from urban and agricultural areas. The findings show that these basins accumulate significant microplastic loads, making them potential hotspots of concentrated plastic pollution.

2023 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics and nanoplastics in stormwater management engineered porous media systems: a systematic review of their sources, transport, retention, and removal characteristics

This systematic review summarizes how engineered stormwater systems like rain gardens and biofilters capture and retain microplastics and nanoplastics. The findings show these systems can effectively reduce plastic particles in stormwater runoff, which matters because untreated stormwater is a major pathway for microplastics to enter the rivers and lakes that supply our drinking water.

2025 Environmental Science Advances
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and Pathways of Microplastics in Bioretention Filters

Researchers found eleven microplastic polymer types in bioretention filter soil and stormwater samples in an urban setting, characterizing the occurrence and pathways of microplastics entering these green infrastructure systems from contaminated impervious surface runoff.

2025 Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Analysis and study of the migration pattern of microplastic particles in saturated porous media pavement

This study modeled how microplastic particles migrate through porous pavement during stormwater runoff, providing insights for designing urban road surfaces that could reduce microplastic transport into groundwater and waterways.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic sampling strategies in urban drainage systems for quantification of urban emissions based on transport pathways

Researchers developed and applied microplastic sampling strategies across an entire urban municipal catchment under both dry and wet weather conditions, finding that wastewater treatment plants remove over 96% of microplastics but still emit 189 kg per year, while wet-weather emissions from high-traffic subcatchments reached 1,952 grams per population equivalent per year, far exceeding dry-weather levels.

2023 Applied Research 4 citations