Papers

20 results
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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

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

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

Microplastics toxicity, detection, and removal from water/wastewater

This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on microplastic toxicity and methods for detecting and removing them from water and wastewater. It covers the health risks posed by microplastics, including their ability to carry harmful chemicals and pathogens, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of various removal technologies. The authors highlight that while some treatment methods can remove most microplastics, no single approach is fully effective, and better solutions are needed to protect drinking water supplies.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 66 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

Microplastics in water: types, detection, and removal strategies

This review covers the different types of microplastics found in water, methods used to detect them, and strategies for removing them from water sources. Microplastics enter water systems from both industrial sources and the breakdown of larger plastic waste, posing threats to aquatic life and potentially human health. The authors evaluate removal techniques including filtration, chemical treatment, and biological approaches that could help clean contaminated water.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 34 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

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

Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Characteristics, Occurrence and Removal Technologies

This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants are a major pathway for microplastics entering the environment, covering the types, sizes, and sources of microplastics found in wastewater. While treatment plants can remove many microplastics, significant amounts still escape into rivers and oceans through treated water and sludge. The authors evaluate various removal technologies and recommend advanced treatment methods to better prevent microplastics from reaching water supplies.

2024 Water 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano/microplastics in water and wastewater treatment processes – Origin, impact and potential solutions

This review examined the origin, fate, and impacts of nano- and microplastics in water and wastewater treatment processes, finding that small particle sizes and diverse polymer compositions make complete removal challenging across conventional and advanced treatment stages. The authors identify detection limitations and process instability as key barriers to effective water treatment for nanoplastics.

2019 Water Research 624 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding microplastic pollution: Tracing the footprints and eco-friendly solutions

This review covers the sources, health impacts, detection methods, and biological removal strategies for microplastic pollution. Biological approaches using algae, bacteria, and fungi show promise for breaking down microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, which could help reduce the amount of these particles that ultimately reach humans through contaminated water and food.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 46 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

Advanced Wastewater Treatment for Mitigating Microplastics Contamination

This review examines advanced wastewater treatment technologies for removing microplastics from effluent, noting that treatment plants receive up to 372 billion microparticles daily and that primary and secondary treatment methods are insufficient to prevent environmental release.

2025
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

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

Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Sources, properties, removal efficiency, removal mechanisms, and interactions with pollutants

This review examines microplastic sources, properties, removal efficiency, and removal mechanisms across different wastewater treatment plant stages. Researchers found that while treatment plants remove a significant portion of microplastics, they cannot eliminate them entirely, resulting in the continued release of millions of particles into the environment daily through effluent and sludge.

2023 Water Science & Technology 128 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence of Micropollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Technologies for Their Removal

This review summarizes the growing problem of micropollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, and evaluates advanced treatment methods to remove them. The research is important for human health because conventional water treatment plants cannot effectively filter out these contaminants, meaning people may be regularly exposed through tap water.

2025 Processes 14 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 in aquatic environment: Challenges and perspectives

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in water environments, covering sources, transport, health effects, detection methods, and control strategies. Microplastics enter waterways from everyday plastic products, industrial discharge, and wastewater treatment plants, where aquatic organisms ingest them and pass them up the food chain. The review highlights the urgent need for better analytical techniques and global policies to reduce microplastic contamination that ultimately reaches human food and drinking water.

2021 Chemosphere 298 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Microplastic Contaminants from Aquatic Environment

This review examines technologies for removing microplastics from aquatic environments, covering physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods and their relative effectiveness. Identifying and improving removal strategies is urgent because microplastics are now found throughout drinking water sources, oceans, and freshwater systems, posing risks to wildlife and human health.

2023 BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS eBooks 2 citations