Sponges With Special Coating Could Absorb Microplastics From Our Oceans
To tackle the problem of microplastics, researchers have developed a sponge that collects extremely small pieces of plastic.?
Scientists have found evidence of microplastics essentially everywhere - deep inside human lungs to Arctic snow and even in bottled water. Once plastic is discarded, its particles keep disintegrating and becoming smaller in the environment.
According to Vinayak Dravid from Northwestern University, the sponge has an "affinity coating that acts as a glue, and it attracts the pollutant," Fast Company reported.
Multiple uses for sponges
The sponge's creators claim that their nanotechnology coating can effectively attract oil and repel water. In fact, with just one thin layer of the coating on a sponge, it can collect 30 times its weight in oil. This oil, then, may be squeezed out. The sponge, too, may be reused repeatedly.
Also read:?Microplastics Found Deep Inside The Lungs Of Living People For The First Time
Dravid, who wants to use these sponges to fish out microplastics from our natural environment, says that the sponge ought to be used in laundry machines that are considered the biggest sources of microplastic pollution. In addition, it may be used in drains where stormwater is dumped into lakes, rivers, or the ocean.
The team is working on numerous coatings that are tailored for specific materials and purposes. To attract plastic, scientists are relying on the fact that plastics have a negative ionic charge and are attracted to a positive charge.
In conversation with Fast Company, Dravid showed interest in dealing with multiple problems in one go - to use old kitchen sponges to pull out microplastics from our oceans. A net filled with different sponges could be thrown into water, attracting several pollutants in one go.?
Also read:?Disposable Coffee Cups Release Trillions Of Microplastic Particles In Your Drink
The team is working on similar solutions in different arenas. For instance, a coating that can passively capture CO2 from air is currently under development.?
What do you think about using sponges to capture pollutants? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.?
References
Peters, A. (2022, April 23). Microplastics are everywhere. These sponges could help capture them. Fast Company.?
