March 13, 2023
THE QUICKER PICKER-UPPER:
SCIENTISTS INVENT POWDER THAT CAN ABSORB DANGEROUS MICROPLASTICS AND REMOVE THEM FROM OUR WATER: 'THE WHOLE PROCESS TAKES 1 HOUR' (Jeremiah Budin, March 11, 2023, The Cool Down)
Professor Nicky Eshtiaghi, lead researcher at RMIT University, and her colleagues have created a magnetic nano-pillared adsorbent that can remove smaller microplastics at a much faster rate than any currently existing technologies.The adsorbent takes the form of a powder additive, which is added to water and attracts microplastics and dissolved pollutants. "This whole process takes one hour, compared to other inventions taking days," says Ph.D. candidate Muhammad Haris, the study's first author.It can also "remove microplastics that are 1,000 times smaller than those that are currently detectable by existing wastewater treatment plants," according to Eshtiaghi."The results suggest a promising pathway to addressing the removal of mixed contaminants from water in a single process and highlighting its potential in resolving critical industrial and domestic wastewater treatment," the team's study abstract reads.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 13, 2023 7:02 PM