Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Adsorption of heavy metal onto biomass-derived activated carbon: review

This review summarizes how activated carbon made from plant-based materials can be used to remove heavy metals from polluted water. Since microplastics in water often carry and concentrate heavy metals on their surface, improving our ability to filter these combined contaminants is important for protecting drinking water and human health.

2023 RSC Advances 272 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastic Removal from Water Using Biomass‐Based Carbon: A Review of Recent Advances

This review evaluates the potential of carbon materials derived from biomass, such as agricultural waste and wood, for removing microplastics from water. Researchers found that these materials offer advantages including low cost, abundant raw material sources, and effective removal capabilities. The study highlights biomass-derived carbon as a promising sustainable technology for addressing microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.

2025 Chemistry - An Asian Journal 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Contaminants and Their Removal from Aqueous Media Using Conventional/Non-Conventional Adsorbents: A Glance at the Relationship between Materials, Processes, and Technologies

This review covers various methods for removing emerging contaminants, including microplastics, from water using materials that absorb pollutants. Activated carbon remains the most effective option, but researchers are also developing cheaper alternatives from agricultural waste and nanomaterials. The work is important because better water treatment methods could reduce human exposure to microplastics and other harmful substances in drinking water.

2023 Water 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based adsorbents for micro/nano-plastics removal: current advances and perspectives

Scientists reviewed how carbon-based materials like graphene, activated carbon, and carbon nanotubes can be used to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. Researchers found that these adsorbents show strong potential for capturing tiny plastic particles thanks to their tunable surface properties and high surface area. The study suggests that carbon-based filtration could become an important technology for cleaning microplastic-contaminated water.

2024 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Paving roads with recycled plastics: Microplastic pollution or eco-friendly solution?

This study assessed the capability of granular activated carbon filtration to remove nanoplastics from drinking water, finding approximately 85% removal efficiency for particles below 1 micrometer. Removal was lower for smaller, hydrophilic particles that resist adsorption.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollutants in water: A comprehensive review on their remediation by adsorption using various adsorbents

This review covers the different materials scientists are developing to filter microplastics out of water, including biochar, activated carbon, sponges, carbon nanotubes, and newer hybrid materials. Each material has trade-offs in terms of cost, effectiveness, and environmental impact, but combining different approaches shows the most promise. The research is important because better water filtration methods could directly reduce the amount of microplastics people consume through drinking water.

2024 Chemosphere 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Performance of activated carbon for polypropylene microplastic removal in wastewater

Researchers tested the ability of granular activated carbon to remove polypropylene microplastics from wastewater and found it could capture over 90 percent of particles under optimized conditions. The carbon's effectiveness depended on factors like particle size, contact time, and water chemistry. The study supports activated carbon adsorption as a practical and efficient add-on treatment step for removing microplastics from water treatment systems.

2025 Sustainable Chemistry for the Environment 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in biochar technology for aquatic pollution control: a critical review of applications, barriers, and future opportunities

Researchers reviewed two decades of research on biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — as a low-cost tool for removing pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, microplastics, and nutrients from water, achieving up to 80% pollutant removal. While promising, challenges in regeneration and scaling up production remain barriers to widespread use.

2025 Discover Sustainability 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging contaminants in polluted waters: Harnessing Biochar's potential for effective treatment

This review explores how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be used to remove a wide range of pollutants from contaminated water, including microplastics, heavy metals, antibiotics, and PFAS. Biochar works through multiple mechanisms like adsorption, electrostatic interactions, and chemical bonding, and can be enhanced through surface modifications. The study highlights biochar as a low-cost, adaptable tool for addressing emerging water contaminants.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 24 citations
Article Tier 2

A brief review on utilizing natural adsorbents for microplastic removal from wastewater: A sustainable approach to environmental protection

Researchers reviewed natural materials like biochar, clay, algae, and agricultural waste as affordable alternatives to synthetic filters for removing microplastics from wastewater, finding some achieved over 80% removal efficiency in the lab, though scaling these methods to real-world treatment systems remains a significant challenge.

2025 Results in Engineering 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Biobased Activated Carbon and Its Application

Not relevant to microplastics — this chapter reviews biobased activated carbon derived from biomass, covering its production, high surface area properties, and applications in water treatment, air purification, energy storage, and soil remediation; microplastics are listed as one of many pollutants it can adsorb but are not the paper's focus.

2024 IntechOpen eBooks 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovations in the Development of Promising Adsorbents for the Remediation of Microplastics and Nanoplastics – A Critical Review

This review evaluates innovative materials being developed to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from polluted water, including carbon-based, metal, polymer, and mineral adsorbents. Researchers compared the effectiveness, advantages, and limitations of each type, finding that adsorption-based approaches show strong promise. The study highlights remaining challenges such as scaling these technologies for real-world water treatment applications.

2022 Water Research 136 citations
Article Tier 2

Use of Agroindustrial Materials as Activated Carbon Precursors for Caffeine Removal: Global Overview

This review surveys global literature on the use of agro-industrial residue-derived activated carbons for caffeine removal from water bodies as an approach to treating emerging contaminants. The review analyzes production methodologies, adsorption parameters, and carbonization conditions across studies from Scopus and Science Direct, finding that adsorbent characteristics and process conditions are the primary determinants of caffeine removal efficiency.

2023 Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental 3 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Utilizing nature-based adsorbents for removal of microplastics and nanoplastics in controlled polluted aqueous systems: A systematic review of sources, properties, adsorption characteristics, and performance

This systematic review evaluates how natural materials like agricultural waste and plant-based substances can be used to filter microplastics and nanoplastics from water. The research shows that these nature-based solutions offer a sustainable and effective approach to reducing plastic particle contamination in drinking water and wastewater systems.

2025 Next Sustainability 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Column-based removal of high concentration microplastics in synthetic wastewater using granular activated carbon

A column-based granular activated carbon system was evaluated as a tertiary treatment for removing high concentrations of microplastics from synthetic wastewater, demonstrating effective removal performance suitable for supplementing conventional wastewater treatment.

2023 Bioengineered 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based composites for removal of pharmaceutical components from water

This review examines how carbon-based materials — including activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene — effectively remove pharmaceutical pollutants from water, highlighting their promise for addressing drug contamination in aquatic environments.

2022 Journal of Composites and Compounds 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-based adsorption technologies for microplastic remediation in aquatic ecosystems

This review examines the use of biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, as a tool for removing microplastics from water. Biochar can effectively adsorb microplastic particles due to its porous structure and surface chemistry, and it can be produced cheaply from agricultural waste. The technology shows promise as an affordable and sustainable approach to reducing microplastic contamination in waterways, though challenges remain in scaling it up for real-world water treatment.

2025 AIP Advances 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Trends in the applications of biochar for the abatement of microplastics in water

This review examines how biochar can be used to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water, summarizing recent advances in biochar modification strategies that improve adsorption capacity and minimize secondary pollution risks.

2025 Bioresource Technology Reports
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the effectiveness of adsorption nano-techniques for microplastic removal: Insights and future prospects

This review evaluates the effectiveness of various adsorbent materials, including activated carbon, bioadsorbents, and advanced nanomaterials, for removing microplastics and nanoplastics from water. Researchers examined key factors like pore size, surface charge, and environmental conditions that influence removal efficiency. The study highlights the need for developing more sustainable and cost-effective adsorbent materials to tackle growing microplastic contamination in water sources.

2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Current progress in sorptive eradication of microplastics from aqueous media: a review

This review summarized sources of microplastics and their health effects, and evaluated various sorbent materials—including biochar, activated carbon, and nanomaterials—used to remove MPs from water under different pH, temperature, and concentration conditions.

2025 New Journal of Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Insights into using plastic waste to produce activated carbons for wastewater treatment applications: A review

This review explores the potential of converting plastic waste into activated carbon, a material widely used to filter pollutants from water. Researchers found that various plastics including polyethylene, polystyrene, and PET can be transformed into effective adsorbents through controlled heating processes. The approach offers a promising way to simultaneously address plastic waste accumulation and water pollution challenges.

2024 Journal of Water Process Engineering 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon nanomaterials for co-removal of antibiotics and heavy metals from water systems: An overview

This review examines how carbon-based nanomaterials can simultaneously remove antibiotics and heavy metals from contaminated water. While the focus is on water treatment rather than human health directly, the study notes that microplastics in the environment can affect how well these cleanup methods work. The authors highlight that these advanced materials show strong potential but need further evaluation of their cost-effectiveness for real-world use.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of micro- and nano-plastics from aqueous matrices using modified biochar – A review of synthesis, applications, interaction, and regeneration

This review examines how modified biochar materials can be used to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. Researchers found that chemical functionalization and nanoparticle integration of biochar significantly improve its ability to capture plastic particles through mechanisms like electrostatic interaction and physical adsorption. The study also highlights challenges in regenerating used biochar for sustainable reuse in water treatment applications.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Heavy Metals: Mechanisms, Kinetics, and Applications of Various Adsorbents in Wastewater Remediation—A Review

This review summarizes how different materials like activated carbon, agricultural waste, and nanomaterials can filter heavy metals out of contaminated water. Since microplastics in water can carry and concentrate heavy metals, improving water treatment is important for reducing human exposure to these combined pollutants.

2023 Waste 359 citations