Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Treatment processes for microplastics and nanoplastics in waters: State-of-the-art review

This review summarized established and emerging treatment processes for removing microplastics and nanoplastics from drinking water and wastewater, evaluating coagulation, membrane filtration, advanced oxidation, and biological treatment in terms of removal efficiency and operational feasibility.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 102 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel Materials for the Removal of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Drinking Water Treatment: A Comprehensive Review

This review systematically assessed novel materials—including metal-organic frameworks, bio-based adsorbents, and advanced membranes—for removing microplastics and nanoplastics from drinking water. The authors found that conventional treatment removes as little as 48.4% of particles and that emerging nanomaterial-based approaches can achieve higher efficiencies, though scalability and cost remain barriers.

2025 Water Environment Research
Article Tier 2

Membrane processes as a highly effective and eco-friendly technology for treating municipal water contaminated with micro- and nanoplastics.

This review assessed membrane filtration processes as a method for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water, evaluating their effectiveness and environmental footprint compared to conventional treatment approaches. Membrane technologies showed high removal efficiency for both micro- and nanoplastics and were identified as among the most promising eco-friendly treatment options.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics removal from water and solid matrices: Technologies, challenges, and future perspectives

Researchers reviewed a decade of research on micro- and nanoplastic removal technologies across water and solid matrices, finding that conventional water treatment achieves over 80% microplastic removal but transfers most particles to sludge rather than degrading them, while advanced oxidation processes show strong degradation potential under controlled but not yet real-world conditions.

2026 Environmental Research
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
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

Removal of nanoplastics in water treatment processes: A review

This review examines technologies for removing nanoplastics from water, noting that conventional treatment processes effective for larger plastics often fail to capture these tiny particles. Researchers evaluated emerging methods including microbial degradation, membrane filtration, and photocatalysis, finding that combined approaches offer the best removal rates. The study highlights that more research is needed to develop practical, large-scale solutions for nanoplastic contamination in drinking water and wastewater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 146 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, Fate, and Treatment of Micro/Nano Plastics in Drinking Water Sources

This review examines the occurrence, fate, and treatment of micro- and nanoplastics in drinking water sources, covering how these particles enter water supplies and what treatment technologies exist to remove them. The authors note significant gaps in both detection methods and removal efficiency.

2024 Water and waste water management
Article Tier 2

Remediation of Micro- and Nanoplastics by Membrane Technologies

This review examined how membrane filtration technologies can remove micro- and nanoplastics from water and wastewater, since conventional treatment plants cannot fully eliminate these particles. Researchers found that techniques like ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and membrane bioreactors are highly effective at capturing microplastics, though each has trade-offs related to cost, fouling, and energy use. The study also raises the concern that polymeric membranes themselves could potentially release plastic particles during the filtration process.

2025 Membranes 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances on micro/nanoplastic pollution and membrane fouling during water treatment: A review

Researchers reviewed recent advances in understanding how micro- and nanoplastics contribute to membrane fouling during water treatment processes. The study found that while membrane separation effectively removes microplastics from wastewater effluent, fouling caused by plastic particles along with dissolved organics and extracellular polymers remains a key obstacle, and understanding the fouling mechanisms is critical for improving treatment efficiency.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Review on the Application of Novel Materials for Microplastics and Nanoplastics Removal in Drinking Water Treatment Systems

Researchers reviewed four categories of emerging materials — plant-derived adsorbents, advanced membranes, solar-powered photothermal systems, and electrochemical technologies — for removing microplastics and nanoplastics from drinking water. Each approach has trade-offs in cost, efficiency, and scalability, and the authors conclude that future solutions will likely require combining multiple technologies into hybrid systems.

2025 Research Review 1 citations
Review Tier 2

A review of microplastic removal from water and wastewater by membrane technologies

This review examines how membrane filtration technologies can remove microplastics from drinking water and wastewater. Researchers found that advanced membranes like nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and membrane bioreactors are among the most effective methods for capturing microplastic particles that conventional treatment plants miss. The study compares membrane approaches with other removal methods and discusses the challenges of membrane fouling caused by microplastic accumulation.

2023 Water Science & Technology 146 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic particles in the aquatic environment: A systematic review

Among treatment technologies for microplastic removal from water, membrane bioreactors achieved the highest efficiency (>99%), followed by activated sludge (~98%) and rapid sand filtration (~97%), while hybrid treatment approaches showed the best overall removal performance.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 238 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics contamination in water supply system and treatment processes

This systematic review found that microplastics are frequently detected in drinking and bottled water despite current treatment technologies, and that no existing method can completely remove them. Integrating advanced treatment approaches with life-cycle assessment and machine learning is needed to address this pervasive contamination of water supply systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent approaches and advanced wastewater treatment technologies for mitigating emerging microplastics contamination – A critical review

This review critically assessed advanced wastewater treatment technologies for removing microplastics, noting that conventional treatment plants act as both barriers and point sources for microplastic release into the environment. The study suggests that advanced treatment approaches such as membrane filtration and advanced oxidation processes show promise for improving microplastic removal efficiency from wastewater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 243 citations
Article Tier 2

Review and future outlook for the removal of microplastics by physical, biological and chemical methods in water bodies and wastewaters

This review compares physical, biological, and chemical methods for removing microplastics from water and wastewater, including newer approaches like advanced membranes, bacterial degradation, and electrochemical treatment. Each method has trade-offs between removal efficiency, cost, and environmental impact, and no single technique currently solves the problem completely. The review emphasizes that developing effective microplastic removal technology is urgent for protecting both ecosystems and human drinking water supplies.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 25 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

Environmental management of microplastics and additives: a critical review of treatment technologies and their impact

This review evaluates treatment technologies for removing microplastics and their chemical additives, such as bisphenol A and nonylphenol, from water. Researchers found that while membrane filtration and advanced oxidation show promise, most technologies face challenges with efficiency, cost, and sustainability at scale. The authors recommend hybrid approaches that combine multiple treatment methods and call for standardized testing to compare how well different systems work.

2024 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Filtration Solutions for Microplastic Mitigation: Cutting-Edge Filtration Technologies and Membrane Innovations for Environmental Protection

This review focused on membrane-based filtration technologies—including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration—as strategies for removing microplastics from water. The authors evaluated removal efficiencies across membrane types and concluded that while membranes show strong performance, fouling and operational costs remain barriers to large-scale deployment.

2025 Applied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Advancements in Sustainable Membrane Technologies for Enhanced Remediation and Wastewater Treatment: A Comprehensive Review

This review covers membrane filtration technologies—reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, and ultrafiltration—as methods for removing contaminants from water, with relevance to microplastic and nanoplastic removal from drinking water and wastewater. Advancing membrane-based treatment is critical for reducing the microplastic load in treated water that humans and ecosystems are ultimately exposed to.

2023 Acadlore Transactions on Geosciences 10 citations