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Microplastics in dialysis effluent: Environmental chemistry insights and metal-organic frameworks-based remediation

Aqsa Kanwal1, Jie Han2, Jing Xu3

  • 1Department of Nephrology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China; School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology
|May 3, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a growing concern. This review explores MPs in dialysis wastewater, finding significant levels and highlighting Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) as a promising removal technology.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Public Health
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Microplastic (MP) pollution presents significant environmental and public health risks.
  • The presence and impact of MPs in medical wastewater, particularly from dialysis, are largely unknown.
  • Polymer degradation during dialysis may introduce MPs into wastewater effluents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review existing literature on MPs in dialysis wastewater and similar effluents.
  • To investigate potential patient exposure pathways via dialysis.
  • To explore the efficacy of advanced treatment technologies, specifically Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), for MP removal.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of 50 peer-reviewed articles (2017-2024).
  • Analysis of MP concentrations in dialysis and similar wastewaters.
  • Evaluation of MOF-based MP removal efficiencies under laboratory conditions.

Main Results:

  • MP concentrations in similar effluents range from 0.2 to 14,000 particles/L.
  • MOFs demonstrate high removal efficiencies (70-99.9%) in laboratory settings.
  • Dialysis effluent is a hypothesized, yet under-investigated, source of MPs.

Conclusions:

  • Dialysis wastewater is a potential, unconfirmed source of MP pollution.
  • Advanced treatments like MOFs show promise for MP removal from effluents.
  • Further research is crucial to quantify and characterize MPs in dialysis wastewater to assess risks.
Keywords:
Dialysis effluentEnvironmental fateEnvironmental toxicologyExposure pathwaysMetal-organic frameworkMicroplastic

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