Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Plant Based Application for Microplastic Removal in Constructed Wetlands: A Mini Review

This mini-review examines how wetland plants in constructed wetlands capture and degrade microplastics through physical entrapment, root-zone interactions, and microbial activity, assessing operational factors that determine removal efficiency.

2025 NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research
Article Tier 2

Microplastics profile in constructed wetlands: Distribution, retention and implications

This study assessed microplastic distribution, retention, and implications within constructed wetlands used for wastewater treatment, finding that wetlands trap substantial quantities of MPs but that retention efficiency varies by plant species and wetland design. The results suggest constructed wetlands both remove and potentially accumulate MPs as a secondary pollution source.

2022 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on the Removal of Contaminants from Wastewater by Constructed Wetland Substrate: A Review

This review examines how different substrate materials used in constructed wetlands affect the removal of pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater. Researchers found that substrate selection is critical to wetland performance but is often based on personal experience rather than scientific evidence. The study provides guidance on choosing substrates with optimal physical and chemical properties to improve wastewater treatment efficiency.

2024 Water 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Identification in Domestic Wastewater-Treating Constructed Wetlands and Its Potential Usage in a Circular Economy

Researchers identified and characterized microplastics in constructed wetlands used for treating domestic wastewater, finding MP accumulation in the substrate and plants and assessing how well these nature-based treatment systems retain plastic particles before effluent is discharged.

2025 Processes
Article Tier 2

Microplastics occurrence and fate in full-scale treatment wetlands

Researchers assessed microplastic occurrence and fate across full-scale treatment wetlands, finding that constructed wetlands effectively remove a significant proportion of MPs from wastewater but that removal efficiency varies with wetland design and MP characteristics.

2023 Water Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Uji Variasi Media Tanam Pada Sistem Pengolahan Tersier Constructed Wetland Skala Laboratorium Dalam Mengolah Air Limbah Domestik

This Indonesian study tested different growing media in a laboratory-scale constructed wetland for treating domestic wastewater. Constructed wetlands are a nature-based approach for removing microplastics and other pollutants before wastewater reaches rivers and coastal waters.

2023 Prosiding Sains Nasional dan Teknologi 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of macrophytes on micro – And nanoplastic retention and cycling in constructed wetlands

This study tested how the presence of aquatic plants (macrophytes) in constructed wetlands affects the capture and cycling of micro- and nanoplastics. Researchers found that planted wetlands were significantly better at intercepting nanoplastics and also improved nitrogen and phosphorus removal even when exposed to plastic particles. The findings suggest that including macrophytes in constructed wetland designs can enhance their ability to manage plastic pollution in water.

2023 Environmental Pollution 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and removal of microplastics in unplanted lab-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands

Laboratory-scale unplanted vertical flow constructed wetlands were shown to remove microplastics from wastewater, with removal efficiency influenced by particle size, shape, and flow rate, highlighting constructed wetlands as a nature-based option for microplastic mitigation.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Constructed Wetlands in Wastewater Treatment and Mitigation of Emerging Contaminants

This review examines how constructed wetlands can serve as sustainable, cost-effective systems for treating wastewater and removing emerging contaminants including nanoplastics, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The authors describe how physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms work together in these engineered ecosystems to break down persistent pollutants. The study suggests that constructed wetlands offer a promising nature-based solution for addressing contaminants that conventional treatment methods struggle to remove.

2026
Article Tier 2

Horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands as tertiary treatment: Can they be an efficient barrier for microplastics pollution?

Horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands used as tertiary wastewater treatment removed 88% of microplastics from secondary effluent, contributing to an overall 98% reduction across the full treatment plant. Macroinvertebrates living in the wetland also ingested microplastics, suggesting biological uptake plays a role in plastic retention within the wetland ecosystem.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 155 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on the fate of micro and nano plastics (MNPs) and their implication in regulating nutrient cycling in constructed wetland systems

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics interact with the biological, chemical, and physical processes in constructed wetlands, which are nature-based systems used to treat wastewater. Researchers found that these tiny plastics can interfere with nitrogen and phosphorus removal by affecting the microbial communities, plant health, and substrate chemistry within the wetlands. The study highlights that as microplastic levels increase in wastewater, their presence could reduce the overall treatment effectiveness of these green infrastructure systems.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Retention of microplastics by interspersed lagoons in both natural and constructed wetlands

Researchers used laboratory wetland models to test how well constructed wetlands with interspersed lagoons and aquatic vegetation can capture microplastic particles from water. Combining vegetated patches with a lagoon achieved microplastic retention rates of up to 99%, suggesting that nature-based wetland designs could be an effective low-cost strategy for filtering microplastics out of wastewater and rivers before they reach the ocean.

2023 Journal of Water Process Engineering 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Technological Innovations in the Application of Constructed Wetlands: A Review

This review covers technological advances in constructed wetlands (CWs) for wastewater treatment, including sustainable materials, ornamental plants, and AI-based modeling tools like neural networks and MODFLOW. While CWs have been investigated as a pathway to remove microplastics from wastewater, this paper focuses on general pollutant removal efficiency and does not directly address microplastic outcomes — it is only tangentially relevant to microplastic research.

2023 Processes 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the microplastic perturbation on surface flow constructed wetlands with macrophytes of different life forms: Responses of nitrogen removal and sensory quality

Polystyrene microplastics initially boosted nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands used for water treatment, but over time they reduced removal efficiency by 25-34% and harmed the beneficial bacteria responsible for cleaning the water. This means microplastic contamination could undermine natural water treatment systems that communities rely on for clean water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and removal of microplastics in a horizontal sub-surface flow laboratory constructed wetland and their effects on the treatment efficiency

Researchers investigated microplastic retention in a laboratory-scale constructed wetland, finding that the wetland effectively captured microbeads and fibers while examining how accumulated microplastics affected the treatment efficiency for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus removal.

2023 Chemical Engineering Journal 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on the treatment performance of constructed wetlands: Based on substrate characteristics and microbial activities

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastic accumulation in constructed wetlands initially improved nitrogen removal efficiency but ultimately impaired treatment performance over a 370-day experiment, altering substrate characteristics and microbial community activities.

2022 Water Research 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics removal and characteristics of a typical multi-combination and multi-stage constructed wetlands wastewater treatment plant in Changsha, China

Researchers evaluated microplastic removal efficiency in a multi-stage constructed wetland wastewater treatment plant in China, finding that the combined treatment processes achieved significant microplastic reduction across successive stages, with constructed wetlands proving effective as a polishing step for microplastic removal.

2022 Chemosphere 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding microplastic retention in surface flow constructed wetlands: The impact of aquatic macrophytes

This study tested how well constructed wetlands with different aquatic plants retain three common types of microplastics: polyethylene beads, tire wear particles, and synthetic fibers. Plants with complex leaf structures trapped more microplastics than simpler plants or unvegetated areas. The findings suggest that planted wetlands could serve as a nature-based solution for filtering microplastics from water before they reach rivers and drinking water sources.

2025 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Integration of ecological restoration and landscape aesthetics: Mechanisms of microplastic retention by optimization of aquatic plants landscape design in urban constructed wetlands — A case study of the living water park in Chengdu

A two-year study of the Living Water Park in Chengdu found that aquatic plant landscapes in constructed wetlands significantly retained microplastics, with plant roots and surfaces acting as physical barriers that reduced MP concentrations downstream.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Constructed wetlands for emerging pollutants removal: A decade of advances and future directions (2014–2024)

This review evaluates a decade of research on constructed wetlands, an eco-friendly water treatment approach, for removing emerging pollutants including antibiotics and microplastics. The evidence shows that constructed wetlands can effectively remove many types of pharmaceuticals and microplastics from water through a combination of physical filtration, microbial breakdown, and plant uptake. These low-cost, nature-based systems could help reduce human exposure to microplastics in treated water, though optimizing their design for different pollutant types remains a challenge.

2024 Journal of Water Process Engineering 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Abundance, characteristics, and removal of microplastics in the Cihu Lake-wetland microcosm system

This study evaluated how well a multi-stage constructed wetland system could remove microplastics from wastewater treatment plant effluent, finding a total removal rate of 94.7%. Horizontal subsurface flow wetlands were particularly effective, and physical filtration through the wetland substrate was identified as the dominant removal mechanism. The findings suggest that constructed wetlands are a promising nature-based solution for reducing microplastic discharge into aquatic environments.

2023 Water Science & Technology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Can an Integrated Constructed Wetland in Norfolk Reduce Nutrient Concentrations and Promote In Situ Bird Species Richness?

An integrated constructed wetland in Norfolk, UK significantly reduced nutrient concentrations in treated effluent and improved local bird species richness. Constructed wetlands are also relevant to microplastics research as they have potential for capturing plastic particles from wastewater effluent.

2020 Wetlands 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Sewage Derived Microplastic and Anthropogenic Fibre Retention by Integrated Constructed Wetlands

Researchers assessed microplastic and anthropogenic fibre retention efficiency of two integrated constructed wetlands in Norfolk, UK, collecting monthly water samples at inlets and outlets over 12 months to evaluate whether these low-cost treatment systems can effectively reduce MP loads discharged from small wastewater treatment plants.

2024
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, fate and removal of microplastics as heavy metal vector in natural wastewater treatment wetland system

Researchers studied microplastic contamination in a natural wastewater treatment wetland system in Eastern India, finding high concentrations in both water and sediments along with toxic heavy metals adsorbed onto the plastic particles. The study found that microplastics acted as vectors for heavy metal contamination in fish and that the treatment ponds removed approximately 53% of surface water microplastics, highlighting the need to account for microplastic pollution in natural wastewater treatment systems.

2021 Water Research 262 citations