Papers

61,005 results
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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

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

Unaccounted Microplastics in the Outlet of Wastewater Treatment Plants—Challenges and Opportunities

This review examines the challenges wastewater treatment plants face in capturing and detecting microplastics, highlighting significant gaps in removal efficiency and calling for improved monitoring and treatment technologies to prevent microplastic discharge into natural water systems.

2023 Processes 13 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

Development and evaluation of a water treatment system for the removal of microplastics in an aqueous medium.

Researchers developed and evaluated a water treatment system for removing microplastics from aqueous media, addressing the urgent environmental concern of microplastic contamination in rivers, seas, and oceans and assessing the system's effectiveness as a promising water purification technology.

2025 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
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

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

Navigating microplastics in wastewater treatment: Understanding analysis, mitigation, removal strategies, impact, and current knowledge gaps

Researchers reviewed how wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) handle microplastic pollution, finding that while WWTPs significantly reduce microplastic levels, they still release hundreds of particles per liter into the environment daily, and inconsistent testing methods make it hard to compare results across studies.

2024 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 12 citations
Review Tier 2

Removal of microplastics and nanoplastics in water treatment processes: A systematic literature review

Researchers systematically reviewed 103 studies across 26 water treatment plants in 12 countries to assess how well various technologies remove microplastics and nanoplastics from drinking water, finding that while coagulation, filtration, and advanced treatments help, significant gaps remain. The review identifies that no single process achieves complete removal, leaving microplastics as a persistent contaminant in treated water supplies.

2024 Journal of Water Process Engineering 34 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

Recent advances in treatment of microplastics in wastewater

This review examines current methods for removing microplastics from wastewater, including conventional treatment processes and newer advanced techniques. Researchers found that while standard treatment plants can remove a significant portion of microplastics, many particles still pass through into waterways, and the captured plastics often end up concentrated in sewage sludge. The study highlights the need for improved treatment technologies to more effectively address microplastic contamination in water systems.

2024 IWA Publishing eBooks 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution is widely detected in US municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent

Researchers conducted a wide survey of US municipal wastewater treatment plants and found microplastics widely present in effluent, confirming that conventional treatment does not fully remove microplastics and that treatment plants are ongoing sources of environmental contamination.

2016 Environmental Pollution 1124 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements and Regulatory Situation in Microplastics Removal from Wastewater and Drinking Water: A Comprehensive Review

This review examines current methods for detecting and removing microplastics from wastewater and drinking water treatment plants. Researchers found that while existing treatment processes remove many microplastics, some particles still pass through to discharge into natural water bodies. The study also provides an overview of regulations and policies in the United States addressing microplastic contamination in water systems.

2024 Microplastics 30 citations
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
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

Developing a Methodology for the Testing of Microplastics in Drinking Water Treatment Plants

Researchers developed a standardized methodology for testing microplastic removal efficiency at drinking water treatment plants, including sampling, analysis, and reporting protocols. Having consistent methods is critical for comparing microplastic contamination across different water treatment facilities and establishing regulatory benchmarks.

2021 Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast)
Article Tier 2

Reuse of Water Contaminated by Microplastics, the Effectiveness of Filtration Processes: A Review

This review evaluates filtration technologies for removing microplastics from water, finding that while treatment plants reduce microplastic counts effectively, large discharge volumes still release substantial quantities into the environment.

2022 Energies 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution from wastewater treatment plants: A critical review on challenges, detection, sustainable removal techniques and circular economy

This review critically examines the challenges of detecting and removing microplastics from wastewater treatment plants, evaluating sustainable removal technologies and circular economy approaches to address this persistent source of aquatic microplastic pollution.

2022 Environmental Technology & Innovation 134 citations
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

Microplastics in aquatic systems: An in-depth review of current and potential water treatment processes

This review provides a detailed examination of microplastic contamination in aquatic systems and evaluates current and emerging water treatment technologies for their removal. Researchers assessed methods ranging from conventional coagulation and filtration to advanced techniques like membrane bioreactors and electrochemical processes. The study concludes that while no single technology fully eliminates microplastics, combining multiple treatment approaches offers the most promising path forward.

2024 Chemosphere 10 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
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

Size- and Polymer-Specific Assessment of Micro- and Nanoplastics in a European Wastewater Treatment System

Scientists studied tiny plastic particles in European wastewater treatment plants and found that these facilities can remove most microplastics from sewage, but many still escape into the environment. Even though the treatment plants filter out a lot of plastic pollution, the enormous amount of wastewater they process means millions of plastic particles still end up in rivers and oceans every day. This matters because these plastic particles can eventually make their way into our drinking water and food chain, potentially affecting human health.

2026
Systematic Review Tier 1

Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) for Microplastic Removal: A Systematic Review

This systematic review examines how well wastewater treatment plants remove microplastics before releasing water back into the environment. The findings show that while treatment plants catch many microplastics, significant amounts still pass through, meaning microplastics continue to enter rivers, lakes, and oceans that supply our drinking water and seafood.

2020 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 138 citations