Researchers from Australia and Pakistan have created a substance that may remove microplastics and other toxins from wastewater much more quickly than current techniques.
The Chemical Engineering Journal published their study.
The material is constructed of microscopic, ferromagnetic “nanopillars” that are sandwiched together between two sheets of metal-organic framework (MOF) by an array of iron oxide nanopillars that have been enclosed in carbon.
The structure’s numerous traps and huge surface area allow it to adhere to even the tiniest water particles.
Microplastics and other pollutants are captured when the material is added to wastewater; these pollutants can then be extracted from the water using a magnet.
The substance, according to the researchers, is affordable, environmentally friendly, and can remove microplastics from water in just one hour as opposed to the days it would normally take using current techniques.
The substance can also pick up microplastics, which are 1,000 times smaller than those that even the most sophisticated treatment facilities can pick up.
Additionally, no new contaminants are created by the substance throughout the entire process.
The idea’s use of bio-waste as a raw material, according to the study’s first author Muhammad Haris, is what is most amazing about it.
He reveals that they have applied for a patent and will soon make the method commercially available.
To read our blog on “Chinese scientists make robot fish to ‘eat’ microplastics in polluted oceans,” click here.
