No one yet knows what threat plastic pollution poses to human health, but the recent realization that we are drinking invisible fragments of plastic along with our water is making many understandably uneasy.
To stop microplastics and nanoplastics from penetrating deep into our bodies and brains, researchers at the University of Missouri have come up with a potentially sustainable and safe way to rid water of microscopic pollutants.
Using natural liquid ingredients that have low toxicity, the team has shown they can remove around 98 percent of nanoscopic polystyrene beads from fresh and salt water.
The solvent that researchers engineered floats on the surface of water, kind of like oil. A quick mix, however, and – voila! – the liquid picks up microscopic plastics in the water and carries them to the surface.
Sucking up the top layer of liquid with a pipette, the team at the University of Missouri (Mizzou) found they could remove nearly all nanoplastic beads from their contaminated water samples.
In salt water, the method worked at extracting 99.8 percent of all polystyrene pollutants.
The proof of concept showcases a cost-effective and potentially “sustainable solution to the nanoplastics problem”, argue researchers from Mizzou. With further research, the technique could even prove useful for cleaning water of other pollutants, like forever chemicals.
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www.sciencealert.com/new-technique-removes-more-than-98-of-nanoplastics-from-water