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Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris
Published on: July 28, 2018
Interactions between microplastics and unit processes of wastewater treatment plants: a critical review
Vaishnavi Koyilath Nandakumar1, Sankar Ganesh Palani2, Murari Raja Raja Varma3
1Department of Civil Engineering, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Jawahar Nagar, Kapra Mandal, Medchal District, Hyderabad 500078, Telangana, India; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Microplastics are classified as emerging pollutants of the aquatic environment, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of their properties for successful management and treatment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as point sources of microplastic pollution of the aquatic and terrestrial (eco)systems. The first part of this review explores the basic definitions of microplastics, sources, types, physical and chemical methods of identifying and characterizing microplastics in WWTPs. The next part of the review details the occurrence of microplastics in various unit processes of WWTPs and sewage sludge. Followed by this, various methods for removing microplastics from wastewater are presented. Finally, the research gaps in this area were identified, and suggestions for future perspectives were provided.
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