Chinese researchers have developed a new material that removes 99.8% of microplastics from water

A Chinese research team has developed a reusable, biodegradable new all-biomass fiber sponge that can absorb 99.8% of microplastics in water when first used, providing a new solution for removing microplastics in water.

The new sponge, made of chitin and cotton extracted from discarded cuttlefish bones, has a porous structure and rich surface functional groups that can absorb microplastics commonly found in industrial products such as food packaging and textiles, Xinhua reported a team from Wuhan University in China as saying in an article published in the international academic journal Science Advances.

The research team used four actual water samples of irrigation water, lake water, sea water and pond water to evaluate the performance of the material, and the results showed that the adsorption capacity of the material was basically unaffected by inorganic particles, heavy metals, organic pollutants and microorganisms in the water, ensuring its stability in the actual water.

The study also found that this new sponge can remove 99.8% of microplastics in water during the first adsorption cycle, and after five cycles, the removal rate remains above 95%, showing its excellent reusability.

"Due to the large amount of plastic waste in the environment, microplastics entering the land and water environment will continue to increase in the next few hundred years," said Deng Hongbing, a professor at the School of Resources and Environmental Sciences at Wuhan University.

"Biomass materials are an effective and economical solution to the complex problem of microplastic pollution in water, and this whole biomass fiber sponge preparation method is simple and has the potential for large-scale production, which is expected to be applied to large-scale water treatment or household water purifiers in the near future."