Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Improving nanoplastic removal by coagulation: Impact mechanism of particle size and water chemical conditions

Researchers found that coagulation using aluminum chlorohydrate and polyacrylamide achieved up to 98.5% removal efficiency for polystyrene nanoplastics, with smaller particles being easier to remove, though humic acid in water competed for adsorption sites and reduced effectiveness.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 112 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation of carboxyl-modified polystyrene nanoplastics in water with aluminum chloride: Structural characterization and theoretical calculation

Aluminum chloride coagulation effectively removed carboxyl-modified polystyrene nanoplastics from water, with structural characterization and theoretical calculations showing that charge neutralization and sweep flocculation mechanisms both contributed to aggregation and sedimentation of the nanoplastics.

2021 Water Research 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Sedimentation of nanoplastics from water with Ca/Al dual flocculants: Characterization, interface reaction, effects of pH and ion ratios

Researchers investigated the use of calcium-aluminum dual flocculants to remove nanoplastics from water, characterizing the sedimentation process and finding that pH and ion ratios significantly influenced flocculation efficiency through interface reactions at the nanoplastic surface.

2020 Chemosphere 93 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient Removal of Polyethylene UsingMagnesium Hydroxide and AnionicPolyacrylamide as Dual-Coagulant byCoagulation-Flocculation Processes

Researchers investigated the removal of polyethylene microplastics from simulated natural water using magnesium hydroxide and anionic polyacrylamide as dual coagulants, finding optimal conditions at 40 mg/L Mg2+, pH 12, and 20°C, achieving high removal efficiency via coagulation-flocculation.

2025 Polish Journal of Environmental Studies
Article Tier 2

Effective removal of nanoplastics from water by cellulose/MgAl layered double hydroxides composite beads

Researchers developed cellulose and layered double hydroxide composite beads to remove nanoplastics from water. The material achieved a maximum removal capacity of 6.08 mg/g through mechanisms involving pore diffusion, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions, suggesting it could be a promising adsorbent for micro- and nanoplastic removal from water.

2022 Carbohydrate Polymers 78 citations
Article Tier 2

The suitability and mechanism of polyaluminum-titanium chloride composite coagulant (PATC) for polystyrene microplastic removal: Structural characterization and theoretical calculation

Researchers developed a new coagulant (a chemical that clumps particles together for removal) that effectively removes polystyrene microplastics from water. The composite coagulant worked better than standard water treatment chemicals across a wider range of water conditions, using hydrogen bonding to capture the plastic particles. This technology could improve drinking water treatment plants' ability to filter out microplastics before water reaches consumers.

2023 Water Research 74 citations
Article Tier 2

New insights into the fate and interaction mechanisms of hydrolyzed aluminum-titanium species in the removal of aged polystyrene

Researchers investigated the interaction between polyaluminum-titanium chloride composite coagulant species and aged polystyrene microplastics, revealing how species transformation during coagulation affects the removal efficiency of microplastics from water.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from aqueous solutions by a novel magnetic zeolite adsorbent

Researchers synthesized a magnetic zeolite adsorbent using co-precipitation and tested it for removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from water, achieving a maximum adsorption capacity of 34.2 milligrams per gram. Iron oxide functional groups on the zeolite surface drove nanoplastic capture via electrostatic attraction, complexation, and pi-pi conjugation, and the material could be magnetically separated for reuse.

2022 Human and Ecological Risk Assessment An International Journal 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Uncovering the performance and intrinsic mechanism of different hydrolyzed AlTi species in polystyrene nanoplastics coagulation

Researchers systematically compared how different aluminum-titanium coagulant species remove nanoplastics from water, finding that polymeric AlTi species outperform monomeric ones by achieving 95% turbidity removal at lower doses through a combination of charge neutralization and chemical complexation with the nanoplastic surface.

2024 Water Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficiency and mechanism of micro- and nano-plastic removal with polymeric Al-Fe bimetallic coagulants: Role of Fe addition

Researchers investigated polymeric Al-Fe bimetallic coagulants for removing micro- and nanoplastics from drinking water, finding that iron addition enhanced nanoplastic removal efficiency through improved charge neutralization and floc formation mechanisms.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of polystyrene nanoparticles using MgAl layered double hydroxide membranes synthesized on aluminum plates

Researchers synthesized magnesium-aluminum layered double hydroxide (LDH) membranes on aluminum plates in just 10 minutes and tested them for removing nanoplastic particles from water, finding strong adsorption of both 100 nm and 1 micrometer polystyrene nanoparticles. The easy-to-make, sheet-like membranes offer a simple and scalable approach to filtering nanoplastics from drinking water and other water sources.

2025 Next Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Destabilization of polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface charge and particle size by Fe electrocoagulation

Researchers tested iron electrocoagulation for removing nanoplastics from water and found it removed up to 85% of negatively charged polystyrene nanoparticles at neutral pH, with removal efficiency declining for larger particles and dropping sharply for positively charged nanoplastics due to insufficient iron floc formation.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal behaviors and mechanism of polystyrene microplastics by coagulation/ultrafiltration process: Co-effects of humic acid

Researchers investigated coagulation-ultrafiltration for removing polystyrene microplastics from drinking water, finding that aluminum-based coagulants achieved over 92% removal efficiency and that humic acid co-presence affected the removal mechanism and membrane fouling.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Microcosmic mechanism analysis of the combined pollution of aged polystyrene with humic acid and its efficient removal by a composite coagulant

Researchers analyzed how aged polystyrene interacts with humic acid at the molecular level and developed a novel polyaluminum-titanium chloride composite coagulant that effectively removes these combined pollutants from water across different pH conditions.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Filtration of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups by natural mineral materials: Performance and mechanisms

Researchers tested natural granular mineral materials including manganese sand, zeolite, and limestone as filter media for removing polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface functional groups from water. The study assessed which minerals perform best in rapid sand filters for nanoplastic removal under varying water chemistry conditions.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the removal behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics and natural organic matter by AlTi-based coagulant from the perspective of functional groups

Researchers examined how the surface chemistry of polystyrene nanoplastics (carboxyl vs. amine groups) and co-occurring natural organic matter influence removal by a novel aluminum-titanium coagulant, finding that amine-functionalized particles are more easily removed across a wider pH range and that low-molecular-weight organic acids preferentially occupy coagulant binding sites, complicating nanoplastic removal in natural water matrices.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface characteristics of polystyrene microplastics mainly determine their coagulation performances

Researchers evaluated polyaluminum sulfate coagulant for removing polystyrene microplastics from water, achieving 90.4% removal at optimal dosage. Surface characteristics of microplastics including density, particle size, and adsorbed substances significantly influenced coagulation efficiency.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploration of interaction mechanism and removal performance of polystyrene nanoplastics with covalent organic framework: Experimental and theoretical study

Researchers synthesized a covalent organic framework (COF) material and demonstrated it can remove polystyrene nanoplastics from water with 99% efficiency within two hours, driven primarily by electrostatic attraction, and retains strong performance across multiple regeneration cycles.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced Removal of Polystyrene Microplastics from Water Through Coagulation Using Polyaluminum Ferric Chloride with Coagulant Aids

Researchers tested enhanced coagulation using modified coagulants to remove polystyrene microplastics from water, finding that surface-modified coagulants achieved significantly higher removal efficiencies than conventional alum. Removal reached over 90% under optimized conditions, demonstrating a practical upgrade pathway for conventional water treatment plants to reduce microplastic discharge.

2024 Environmental Engineering Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of iron/aluminum (hydr)oxide and clay minerals on heteroaggregation and transport of nanoplastics in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with nine different minerals in aquatic environments, finding that positively charged iron and aluminum (hydr)oxide minerals readily form aggregates with nanoplastics through electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, while humic acid and shifting pH significantly suppress this aggregation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Microplastics from Wastewater Treatment Plants by Coagulation

Researchers tested coagulation-based methods for removing microplastics from wastewater using polyaluminum chloride and polyferric sulfate, with and without polyacrylamide additives. The best results came from combining polyaluminum chloride with cationic polyacrylamide, which achieved 87.5% removal of polystyrene microplastics. The study suggests that cationic polyacrylamide works especially well because of electrostatic interactions with negatively charged microplastic particles.

2026 Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Coagulation properties of magnetic magnesium hydroxide for removal of microplastics in the presence of kaolin and humic acid

A magnetic magnesium hydroxide coagulant was prepared and combined with a polymer flocculant to remove polyethylene microplastics from water, achieving 87.1% removal efficiency. The magnetic component allowed easy post-treatment separation, and the presence of kaolin and humic acid in the water affected removal performance.

2022 Environmental Technology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Crystallinity- dependent heteroaggregation and co-sedimentation between polystyrene nanoplastics and iron (hydro)oxides

Researchers found that the crystallinity of iron (hydro)oxide minerals strongly governs their tendency to aggregate with polystyrene nanoplastics in water — higher crystallinity produces more positive surface charges, stronger electrostatic attraction, and greater hydrogen bonding with nanoplastics, ultimately controlling how and where these combined particles settle in aquatic environments.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Adsorption and thermal degradation of microplastics from aqueous solutions by Mg/Zn modified magnetic biochars

Researchers developed magnesium- and zinc-modified magnetic biochars that achieved over 94% removal efficiency for polystyrene microplastics from water, with performance enhanced by the metal modifications. The modified biochars also showed effectiveness in thermally degrading the captured microplastics, offering a potential two-step approach for microplastic removal and destruction in water treatment.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 471 citations