Exploring the Role of Advanced Oxidation Processes in Microplastics Research: A Systematic Literature Review

Exploring the Role of Advanced Oxidation Processes in Microplastics Research: A Systematic Literature Review | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Exploring the Role of Advanced Oxidation Processes in Microplastics Research: A Systematic Literature Review Kaique Carvalho da Silva, Thiago Moreira de Rezende Araújo, Walter Ruggeri Waldman, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8752739/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A wide range of studies aims to detect or understand microplastics (MPs) behavior in environmental samples and experimental protocols. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are a promising tool for MPs research, applicable in aging, degradation, digestion, adsorption, and desorption. Therefore, the objective of this review is to identify the main applications of AOPs and the findings from MPs studies. The systematic literature review was conducted utilizing the Web of Science platform. Keywords connected by Boolean operators “AND’, “OR”, and “NOR” were selected to recover the largest number of articles possible across various matrices. The research culminated in 388 articles from 1990 to November 2nd, 2025, which were explored in the Web Rayyan for data management and evaluation. After thorough analysis, 84 articles were deemed eligible for inclusion in the final review, meeting all established inclusion criteria and without grounds for exclusion. Fenton agents, H 2 O 2 , and their combinations were predominant in research on MPs aging, degradation, and digestion. Persulfate was the most effective oxidizing agent for aging, rapidly causing morphological and chemical modifications. On the other hand, AOPs for the elimination of MPs require more robust technologies to enhance the efficiency of these processes, due to MPs resistance to degradation. In digestion, NaClO was more effective and less damaging to MPs, and recovery after digestion with various oxidants revealed challenges with PVC and PET due to matrix degradation, resulting in low recovery rates. AOPs can increase the adsorption capacity of MPs, which depends on surface area and the number of functional groups. Microplastics Advanced oxidation processes Aging Degradation Digestion Adsorption Desorption Full Text Supplementary Files ResponsetoReviewer.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 25 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8752739","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":596929602,"identity":"61f9bcc6-9e30-4965-9205-9f1f163f7773","order_by":0,"name":"Kaique Carvalho da Silva","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kaique","middleName":"Carvalho da","lastName":"Silva","suffix":""},{"id":596929603,"identity":"290c8c83-2771-4797-ab7c-2472f45c2b62","order_by":1,"name":"Thiago Moreira de Rezende 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Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are a promising tool for MPs research, applicable in aging, degradation, digestion, adsorption, and desorption. Therefore, the objective of this review is to identify the main applications of AOPs and the findings from MPs studies. The systematic literature review was conducted utilizing the Web of Science platform. Keywords connected by Boolean operators \u0026ldquo;AND\u0026rsquo;, \u0026ldquo;OR\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;NOR\u0026rdquo; were selected to recover the largest number of articles possible across various matrices. The research culminated in 388 articles from 1990 to November 2nd, 2025, which were explored in the Web Rayyan for data management and evaluation. After thorough analysis, 84 articles were deemed eligible for inclusion in the final review, meeting all established inclusion criteria and without grounds for exclusion. 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