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A Korean team has developed a new, highly efficient water filter capable of removing almost all microplastics and other pollutants in just seconds. A welcome hope, especially for people who do not have access to drinking water.
Among the avalanche of anxiety-provoking environmental information, some announcements have the gift of giving us hope. This is the case of the invention unveiled by the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in Korea, which has developed a new type of filter, capable of purifying water of all plastic pollution. A feat when we know that today microplastics are a scourge on the Earth.
“Between 5 millimeters and a few hundred nanometers, i.e. 70 times smaller than the thickness of a hair, they are found everywhere in the environment: the air, homes, waterways, the earth, but also the oceans” announces ANSES on its website.
In fact, microplastics are also found in our bodies, in breast milk, blood or even in our stools.
99.9% of microplastics absorbed
Given the current threat, many teams are currently working on the subject of microplastics. That of the Korean researchers is based on a highly porous material known as triazine covalent framework (CTF), which offers a phenomenal surface to trap this type of polluting particles. The researchers thus worked and attempted to dose this CTF molecule to attract water without exposing the material to excessive oxidation. Result ? A product that can remove more than 99.9% of microplastics present in different samples in 10 seconds. The material can also be reused several times without its performance being reduced.
Their prototype would also eliminate volatile organic compounds
The team of scientists does not stop here since it has also worked on a polymer capable of absorbing sunlight, converting the energy into heat and using it to purify another pollutant, namely volatile organic compounds (VOCs). According to the publication made in the journal Advanced Materials, it eliminated more than 98% of VOCs. While a prototype combining the two types of membranes made it possible to eliminate more than 99.9% of the two types of pollutants.
“Our technology exhibits unparalleled water purification performance, removing over 99.9% of phenolic microplastics and VOC contaminants in water in record time,” concludes Park Chi-Young, lead author of the study.
This new technology, if developed on a large scale, could in particular be used to provide drinking water to populations living in remote regions of the globe.