Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Sustainable coagulative removal of microplastic from aquatic systems: recent progress and outlook

This review examines how natural coagulants from plants, animals, and microbes can be used to remove microplastics from water as a greener alternative to conventional chemical treatments. These bio-based coagulants, especially when combined with nanotechnology, show promising removal rates while avoiding the toxic residues left by traditional chemical approaches.

2025 RSC Advances 20 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Natural-based coagulants/flocculants for microplastics and nanoplastics removal via coagulation–flocculation: a systematic review

This systematic review evaluates how natural plant-based materials can be used to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water through coagulation and flocculation processes. The findings show that these sustainable, nature-derived alternatives can effectively capture plastic particles during water treatment, offering a greener approach to reducing microplastic contamination in our drinking water.

2026 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Biopolymer-based flocculants: a review of recent technologies

Researchers reviewed recent advances in biopolymer-based flocculants — water treatment agents derived from chitosan, starch, cellulose, and lignin — summarizing modification strategies and flocculation mechanisms, and highlighting their potential as environmentally friendly replacements for synthetic polymer flocculants that contribute to microplastic pollution in treated water.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 140 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastic Removal in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) by Natural Coagulation: A Literature Review

This review examines how natural coagulants, substances derived from plants and other natural sources, can be used to remove microplastics during wastewater treatment. Natural coagulants are safer and cheaper than chemical alternatives, and show promise for capturing microplastic particles. Since wastewater treatment plants are a major source of microplastics entering waterways, better removal methods could reduce the amount of plastic pollution reaching the environment and eventually human food and water supplies.

2023 Toxics 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Tailored cellulose-based flocculants for microplastics removal: Mechanistic insights, pH influence, and efficiency optimization

Researchers developed plant-derived (cellulose-based) flocculants that clump microplastics together so they can be more easily removed from water, finding that a low concentration of 0.001 g/mL was optimal and that both electrical charge and water-repelling interactions drive the process depending on the type of plastic.

2025 Powder Technology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Fenugreek and OkraPolymers as Treatment Agents forthe Removal of Microplastics from Water Sources

Researchers evaluated fenugreek and okra plant-derived polysaccharides as biodegradable, non-toxic flocculants for removing microplastics from water sources, positioning them as alternatives to conventional inorganic and synthetic organic flocculants. The study assessed their coagulation and flocculation performance for capturing fine microplastic particles that evade standard wastewater treatment processes.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microalgal-based biopolymer for nano- and microplastic removal: a possible biosolution for wastewater treatment

The cyanobacterium Cyanothece sp. produced extracellular polymeric substances that formed aggregates with both nano and microplastics, flocculating and removing them from water. This microalgal bioflocculant is proposed as a natural, non-toxic alternative to synthetic flocculants for removing plastics from wastewater.

2020 Environmental Pollution 173 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
Article Tier 2

Coagulative removal of microplastics from aqueous matrices: Recent progresses and future perspectives

This review examines how coagulation, a common water treatment technique, can be used to remove microplastics from water. Researchers compared the effectiveness of different coagulants, finding that natural options like chitosan and protein-based coagulants achieved removal rates above 90 percent. The study highlights the promise of natural coagulants as a more sustainable approach to tackling microplastic contamination in water treatment systems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Eradication of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment: Overview

This review examined technologies for removing microplastics from wastewater, evaluating physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods and finding that while conventional treatment plants capture a significant fraction, emerging technologies like membrane filtration and coagulation are needed to achieve more complete removal.

2022 Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Removal of Microplastics and Natural Organic Matter from Water by Coagulation–Flocculation with Protein Amyloid Fibrils

Researchers developed a novel water treatment method using protein-based amyloid fibrils as a natural flocculant to remove microplastics and dissolved organic matter from water. The method achieved removal efficiencies above 97% for both microplastic particles and humic acid, outperforming conventional chemical flocculants at the same dosage. The approach offers a sustainable, biodegradable alternative to traditional water treatment chemicals for addressing microplastic contamination.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 160 citations
Article Tier 2

Greener Microplastics Removal: Progressive Replacement of Iron‐Based Coagulants with Sodium Alginate and Chitosan to Enhance Sustainability

Researchers tested whether natural biopolymers like sodium alginate and chitosan could progressively replace iron-based coagulants for removing microplastics from wastewater. They found that partial substitution maintained effective microplastic removal while reducing the environmental footprint of the coagulation process. The study suggests that blending conventional and biopolymer coagulants offers a more sustainable approach to microplastic removal in wastewater treatment.

2025 ChemPlusChem 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics removal mechanisms in wastewater treatment plants: A review

This review examines how conventional wastewater treatment plants remove micro- and nanoplastics, and evaluates advanced technologies like membrane filtration and electrocoagulation that could improve removal rates. While existing treatment plants can capture most microplastics, they still release significant quantities into waterways through their enormous discharge volumes. The study highlights that biological treatment steps may also transform microplastics in potentially harmful ways that need further investigation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of New Polymer Flocculants in Industrial Wastewater Treatment

This review covers the use of polymer-based flocculants in industrial wastewater treatment, which help remove suspended particles and contaminants. Flocculants are relevant to microplastic removal because they can aggregate small plastic particles to make them easier to filter out of water.

2023 Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Polymeric Flocculants and Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment

This review explores how materials derived from natural biological sources, such as plant-based polymers, can be used as flocculants and adsorbents to remove contaminants from wastewater. Researchers found that these bio-based materials offer advantages including biodegradability, low cost, and effectiveness in trapping pollutants through both clumping and surface binding mechanisms. The study suggests that bio-based polymeric materials are a promising sustainable alternative to synthetic chemicals currently used in water treatment.

2023 Sustainability 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics remediation in aqueous systems: Strategies and technologies

This review assessed strategies and technologies for removing microplastics from aquatic environments, comparing coagulation-flocculation, membrane filtration, magnetic separation, photocatalysis, and biological degradation approaches in terms of efficiency, scalability, and cost for both wastewater and natural water treatment.

2021 Water Research 187 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights on Microplastic Contamination from Municipal and Textile Industry Effluents and Their Removal Using a Cellulose-Based Approach

Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in effluents from textile industries and municipal sources and evaluated a cellulose-based treatment approach for their removal. Textile effluents contained high microplastic concentrations dominated by synthetic fibers, and the cellulose-based method achieved significant removal efficiency, offering a biodegradable remediation alternative.

2024 Polymers 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovative technologies for removal of micro plastic: A review of recent advances

Researchers reviewed emerging technologies for removing microplastics from wastewater, covering filtration, coagulation, biological treatment, and other methods used at treatment plants. The review highlights which approaches show the most promise and calls for broader adoption and improved standardization so that microplastics are more consistently captured before they reach rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2024 Heliyon 55 citations
Article Tier 2

The removal of microplastics from water by coagulation: A comprehensive review

This review comprehensively examined coagulation as a technology for removing microplastics from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, analyzing the mechanisms, influencing factors, and effectiveness of different coagulants for microplastic removal.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 151 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics in water: Technology progress and green strategies

Researchers reviewed existing technologies for removing microplastics from water, including filtration, magnetic separation, chemical coagulation, and biodegradation. Each method has significant trade-offs — filtration is costly, chemical approaches risk secondary pollution, and biological methods are slow — pointing to the need for integrated, environmentally friendly strategies that combine multiple approaches.

2022 Green Analytical Chemistry 144 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial cellulose biopolymers: The sustainable solution to water-polluting microplastics

Researchers developed bacterial cellulose (BC) biopolymer filters as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based polymer filters used in wastewater treatment plant microplastic removal. BC filters showed high MP capture efficiency and are biodegradable, addressing both microplastic pollution and the environmental costs of conventional synthetic filter maintenance.

2022 Water Research 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient removal of nano- and micro- sized plastics using a starch-based coagulant in conjunction with polysilicic acid

Researchers found that combining a starch-based coagulant with polysilicic acid efficiently removes nano- and micro-sized polystyrene particles from water, offering an eco-friendly coagulation approach for addressing microplastic pollution in water treatment applications.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants

This review surveys microplastic removal technologies used in wastewater treatment plants, comparing membrane bioreactors, electrocoagulation, coagulation-sedimentation, and biodegradation approaches. Understanding removal efficiency at treatment plants is critical because they are a primary pathway by which microplastics — and the toxic chemicals they carry — reach rivers, coastal waters, and ultimately drinking water supplies.

2024 BIO Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic removal in coagulation-flocculation: Optimization through chemometric and morphological insights

Researchers optimized the coagulation-flocculation process — a standard water treatment step where chemicals cause particles to clump and settle — for removing three types of microplastics: polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene. Polystyrene was removed most efficiently, and adjusting pH, coagulant type, and dosage significantly improved removal rates, providing practical guidance for upgrading existing water treatment plants to better capture microplastics.

2026 Journal of Ecological Engineering