Plastic is a huge concern for the environment. When consumer products and industrial waste break down, the environment becomes inundated with small pieces of plastic known as microplastics. For this reason, scientists are currently dedicating so much of their time to finding a solution to this ever-increasing issue. Thankfully, they have recently created a sponge-like foam that removed up to 99.9% of microplastic in the water samples they used in the study.
A Sustainable Solution
This new foam is environmentally adaptable and sustainable, especially compared to other ocean-hoovering techniques. Many of these older approaches damaged the neuston zone, the layer just below the surface of the water that is home to numerous species of marine life. The foam works by soaking up microplastics from the ocean’s surface. It can also be used to treat the water released by factories before it enters the environment. This has the potential to significantly decrease the microplastics already present in the environment as well as those being leaked out by industrial processes.
An Issue That Will Continue For Thousands of Years
Microplastics entering the environment is an issue that is anticipated to exponentially increase for thousands of years to come. This is due to the shocking volumes of plastic waste and the fact that it does not degrade under natural conditions. Aquatic ecosystems are the first to feel the impact since these environments are convenient places for microplastics to be consumed by many different organisms. This is why there is such a significant demand for the creation of methods for remediation of these aquatic ecosystems.
Addressing the Demand
To meet this growing demand, they developed Ct-Cel biomass foam, a sponge-like product that blends two naturally occurring substances: squid bone chitin and cotton cellulose. While we think of squid as mainly being soft and squishy, they also have a little pen-shaped chitin skeleton inside. When the scientists broke the original hydrogen bonds between cellulose and chitin and produced intermolecular interactions, the two substances stuck together perfectly. This resulted in a stable framework with a large number of activated hydrogen bonding sites for microplastic adsorption.
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Microplastic Foam Observations
Adsorption experiments and computer studies revealed that it could retain microplastics in a number of techniques, including electrostatic attraction, physical interception, and several intermolecular interactions. They then tested the Ct-Cel sponge in four different types of water bodies: lake water, agriculture irrigation, still water, and coastal water. After five cycles, it still had a removal performance exceeding 95 percent.
Great Potential
Because it can be reused, scientists believe it has the potential to be scalable. With some more testing, it can be deployed to begin addressing the ongoing microplastic issue. The researchers believe that the Ct-Cel foam has exceptional potential for extracting microplastic from complex bodies of water. As a result, their design principles could make it easier for researchers to create realistic and sustainable ways of dealing with microplastic pollution using biomass foams in the future.
The Bottom Line on Microplastic
The invention of Ct-Cel biomass foam represents a significant advancement in the ongoing struggle against microplastic contamination. This material has tremendous potential for reducing the impact of microplastics since it provides a sustainable, effective, and recyclable solution. The foam can remove up to 99.9% of microplastics in a variety of water conditions. It has the potential to preserve aquatic ecosystems and reduce microplastics released by industrial processes. More testing and scaling are still required to make this technique have significant impact. However, this accomplishment provides hope for a cleaner planet by illustrating that science is paving the road for environmental recovery.
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