Safer water with a microplastic-removing gel

A non-profit start-up in Germany has developed a gel to remove microplastics from drinking water. It's being implemented in water treatment plants.

Transcript

00:00Water containing microplastics and water without.

00:11During sewage treatment an environmentally friendly gel is used.

00:15It's made mainly from carbon and silica.

00:18The gel binds the microplastic into clumps, making them visible.

00:24Our hybrid silica gel is like a magic glue

00:28that brings the microplastic particles together.

00:31They then float to the surface where we can easily skim them off.

00:35It turns many small particles into just a few clusters.

00:40Microplastics typically enter water treatment plants

00:44through cosmetics, clothing and industrial wastewater.

00:48Industrial plants emit the biggest share.

00:51A smaller proportion comes from private homes.

00:54The research team regularly collects data

00:57at a wastewater treatment plant in southwestern Germany.

01:00They also test the purified water once it's been fed back into a nearby stream.

01:07After two years of research,

01:09we're now able to remove 85 to 90 percent of the microplastics in the water.

01:14That's the kind of results you can work with.

01:19In their small laboratory,

01:21the scientists add fluorescent markers to the water samples.

01:25These are activated when light of a certain wavelength is directed onto the sample,

01:31revealing how much microplastic is present.

01:34The more the sample glows, the more microplastic it contains.

01:39Determined to make her discovery available to others,

01:42Katrin Schuen founded a non-profit start-up a few years ago

01:46to advise treatment plants and companies.

01:50The equipment is sold by a partner company,

01:53and the gel is widely available.

01:59Companies can buy the equipment and build the plants themselves,

02:03because they're very simple, they're low-tech.

02:06A basic reactor, equipped with a stirrer inside and a power supply.

02:11And that's enough to trigger the process.

02:15Wastewater treatment plants and companies, including some from abroad,

02:19are now approaching Katrin Schuen to use the system for their water.

02:24Incidentally, once removed, the microplastic can be cleaned and recycled.

02:29A circular economy that makes the system even more attractive for companies.