Scientists have identified a promising all-natural way to remove dangerous microplastics from water.
The team, which published its findings in Frontiers in Environmental Science, compared two natural powder coagulants — derived from the seeds of the clearing nut tree and chickpeas — with the synthetic coagulant alum.
It found that the natural solutions performed better when it came to smaller polyamide microplastics under 500 micrometers, removing up to 95.81% of them. Meanwhile, alum did better with larger microplastics.
Going one step further to test real-world applicability, the scientists tried the same coagulants on locally collected lake water. The clearing nut tree's powder maintained high removal efficiencies of over 90% for microplastics under 500 micrometers, outperforming alum. This natural substance also gained an advantage over the alum when it came to larger plastics. However, the chickpeas' efficiency dropped to moderate, removing up to 83.49% of the smaller microplastics and up to 85.26% of the larger ones, which was slightly lower than alum.
While research is still emerging, studies have tied microplastic exposure to a number of health problems, including dementia, cancer, and impaired blood flow in the brain. In addition to water, humans can take in microplastics through food and inhalation.
This new study adds to a growing body of research that explores methods for removing these tiny plastics from water. For instance, one group of scientists found that it's possible to remove most microplastics from water using modified egg whites.
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Microplastics are often the result of large plastics breaking down, so it's also important that we stop them at the source. You can help by avoiding single-use plastics whenever possible. Invest in a reusable water bottle, bring a reusable shopping bag to the market, and bring to-go containers to restaurants.
Meanwhile, the authors of the new study advocated for further investigation into natural coagulants for microplastics removal, as they noted that the use of synthetic coagulants is associated with issues such as residual toxicity, increased operational costs, environmental persistence, and potential health risks due to excessive aluminum levels in water.
"There is a growing need to explore alternative, sustainable, and eco-friendly approaches for the removal of microplastics from water, including the utilization of natural coagulants and innovative treatment technologies," they concluded. "Plant-derived materials, particularly seeds from select plant species, have emerged as promising and eco-friendly alternatives for water and wastewater treatment applications."
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