Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Method development for microplastic analysis in wastewater

This book chapter describes methods developed to detect and measure microplastics in wastewater samples, addressing the lack of standardized analytical protocols. Reliable detection methods are essential because wastewater treatment plants are a major pathway through which land-based microplastics enter aquatic environments.

2020 IWA Publishing eBooks 1 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

Evaluation of the Presence of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Development and Verification of Strategies for Their Quantification and Removal in Aqueous Streams

Researchers evaluated microplastic presence in wastewater treatment plants and developed a pilot capture system capable of detecting, quantifying, and removing microplastic particles from water. The study found that conventional treatment processes are insufficient for complete microplastic removal, highlighting the need for dedicated technologies to address this gap in water treatment infrastructure.

2025 Sustainability 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A multidimensional study of wastewater treatment

This review covers the full range of wastewater treatment approaches, from physical and chemical methods to biological and membrane-based technologies. The paper summarizes how different contaminant types — including microplastics — are handled by various treatment systems. It serves as a broad reference for understanding current wastewater management capabilities and limitations.

2022 International Journal of experimental research and review 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Validation of Sample Preparation Methods for Microplastic Analysis in Wastewater Matrices—Reproducibility and Standardization

Sample preparation methods for microplastic analysis in wastewater were validated against reference standards to assess recovery rates and reproducibility. The validation study identified methods that reliably extract microplastics from complex wastewater matrices, supporting more consistent environmental monitoring of microplastic discharge from treatment plants.

2020 Water 180 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of a Routine Screening Method for the Microplastic Mass Content in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent

Researchers developed a routine screening method to quantify microplastic mass content in wastewater treatment plant effluent, addressing the need for standardized, practical monitoring tools that can be integrated into regular facility operations.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry 23 citations
Article Tier 2

A Critical Review of Extraction and Identification Methods of Microplastics in Wastewater and Drinking Water

This critical review of methods for detecting microplastics in wastewater and drinking water identifies major inconsistencies in sample collection, processing, and characterization across studies, making it difficult to compare reported concentrations. A five-criteria ranking system is proposed to evaluate the quality and completeness of microplastics studies.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 224 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics from wastewater: available techniques and way forward

This review surveys the available techniques for removing microplastics from wastewater, including filtration, coagulation, biological treatment, and advanced methods like membrane bioreactors. Researchers found that while conventional treatment plants can remove a substantial fraction of microplastics, significant amounts still pass through to the environment. The study emphasizes the need for upgrading wastewater treatment systems to better capture these emerging contaminants.

2021 Water Science & Technology 100 citations
Review Tier 2

The Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plants on Retainment of Plastic Microparticles to Enhance Water Quality—A Review

This review examined how well wastewater treatment plants remove microplastics, finding that most conventional systems achieve high removal rates but still discharge significant plastic quantities in treated effluent and sludge. Improving treatment efficiency and preventing sludge application to farmland are key strategies for reducing microplastic release.

2021 Journal of Environmental Protection 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Selection of a sustainable treatment process for removal of microplastics from wastewater by axiomatic design and PROMETHEE

Researchers compared multiple water treatment processes for microplastic removal and identified selection criteria for sustainable treatment approaches, finding that coagulation-flocculation, membrane filtration, and biological treatment each offered different trade-offs in cost, efficiency, and byproduct generation.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 2 citations
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

Microplastic contamination in wastewater: Sources, distribution, detection and remediation through physical and chemical-biological methods

This review covers how microplastics end up in wastewater from sources like textile fibers, personal care microbeads, and broken-down plastic debris, and how they often survive the treatment process. Current removal methods like filtration and chemical degradation are costly and not fully effective. The lack of standardized ways to measure microplastics in wastewater makes it difficult to assess the full scope of human exposure through water systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 118 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection and removal of microplastics in wastewater: evolution and impact

This review covers methods for detecting and removing microplastics from wastewater, which is a major pathway for microplastics to enter the environment. Microplastics in water can carry heavy metals, disease-causing organisms, and chemical additives, and are eventually consumed by aquatic life that enters the human food chain. The authors emphasize that better wastewater treatment technology is needed to reduce human exposure to microplastics through water and seafood.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 257 citations
Article Tier 2

Physical and Biological Removal of the Mass Load of Emergent Pollutants from Waste Treatment Facilities

This study evaluated physical and biological treatment processes for removing emerging pollutants, including microplastics, from wastewater, comparing removal efficiencies across treatment stages and identifying steps where plastic retention is greatest.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of microplastics in advanced biological wastewater treatment plant effluent

Researchers investigated the presence and characteristics of microplastics in the effluent of an advanced biological wastewater treatment plant. They found that microplastics persist even after advanced treatment processes, though the specific types and sizes varied. The study underscores the need for standardized methods to sample, identify, and quantify microplastics in wastewater streams.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 16 citations
Article Tier 2

The application of bioremediation in wastewater treatment plants for microplastics removal: a practical perspective

This review assessed strategies for incorporating bioremediation into wastewater treatment plants specifically targeting microplastic removal, including bioaugmentation with microplastic-degrading microorganisms. The authors identified potential in using biofilm reactors and enhanced biological treatment but noted that microbial degradation of common polymers in wastewater timeframes remains limited.

2022 Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Methods to recover and characterize microplastics in wastewater treatment plants

This review systematically examines methods used to recover and characterize microplastics from wastewater treatment plants, identifying key methodological challenges including inconsistent extraction procedures, contamination risks, and varying identification techniques that complicate cross-study comparisons. The authors provide recommendations for standardizing WWTP microplastic analysis to improve the reliability and comparability of removal efficiency data.

2022 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of potential ecological risk for microplastic particles

Researchers developed a framework for assessing the ecological risk of microplastic particles, incorporating particle characteristics, environmental concentrations, and species sensitivity data. The assessment identified conditions under which current environmental microplastic levels pose significant risk to aquatic organisms.

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

Microplastics removal through water treatment plants: Its feasibility, efficiency, future prospects and enhancement by proper waste management

Researchers reviewed over 80 studies on water treatment plant performance and found microplastic removal ranges widely — from 16% in basic primary treatment up to near 100% with advanced membrane systems — but a major flaw is that removed microplastics concentrate in sludge, which can re-enter the environment. The review recommends optimizing coagulants and sludge treatment to prevent microplastics from simply being relocated rather than eliminated.

2021 Environmental Challenges 181 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Evaluation of conventional wastewater treatment plants efficiency to remove microplastics in terms of abundance, size, shape, and type: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

Conventional wastewater treatment plants progressively reduce microplastic abundance from ~124 items/L in influent down to ~2 items/L after tertiary treatment, but significant publication bias was detected across the 77 studies analyzed, suggesting reported removal efficiencies may be skewed.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 77 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

Microplastics Removal from Treated Wastewater by a Biofilter

Researchers evaluated a pilot-scale biofilter for removing microplastics from secondary wastewater treatment effluent, finding it effectively polished treated wastewater before environmental discharge by capturing particles across multiple filter zones.

2020 Water 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Design of an Efficient Model for Microplastic Removal in Wastewater using Advanced Filtration, Nanotechnology, and Bioremediation

This paper proposed an advanced machine learning model to design and optimize microplastic removal in wastewater treatment, using process parameters to predict removal efficiency. The intelligent model outperformed conventional design approaches in predicting treatment outcomes.

2024 Communications on Applied Nonlinear Analysis 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification and quantification of microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluent: Investigation of the fate and biological effects

This study identified and quantified microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluents and sludge, finding particles in all samples with fibers being the dominant type. The research contributes to understanding how much microplastic reaches surface waters via wastewater discharge and how much is captured in sludge that is subsequently applied to agricultural land.

2018 Griffith Research Online (Griffith University, Queensland, Australia) 4 citations