Researchers may have found an effective, green way to remove microplastics from our water using readily available plant materials. Their device was found to capture up to 99.9% of a wide variety of microplastics known to pose a health risk to humans.
In case anyone wasn’t clear, this is for drinking water/waste water systems. Not for cleaning up the ocean.
This sounds like a great, renewable, filter material that can be added (or replace existing filters) to a municipal water treatment plant. There’s serious issues with microplastics getting into drinking water, and this could certainly help with that.
So normal filters don’t remove micro plastic?
Most normal filters at the consumer level are made of the same plastics.
RO removes up to 99% of microplastics. Ceramic water filters, water distillation, and nanofiltration also remove microplastics.
A couple links on microplastic removal:
Microplastics removal strategies: A step toward finding the solution
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11783-021-1441-3
Removal of microplastics via drinking water treatment: Current knowledge and future directions
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32443234/
Microplastics removal through water treatment plants: Its feasibility, efficiency, future prospects and enhancement by proper waste management
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010021002432