Researchers develop eco-friendly ‘magnet’ to battle microplastics

Phys.org  February 12, 2024 Removal of micro- and nano-plastics from water is challenging using conventional separation methods. A new class of solvents composed of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors called Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have been proposed as a cheaper alternative to ionic liquids. Hydrophobic DES derived from natural compounds (NADES) show promise as extractants in liquid–liquid extractions. Researchers at the University of Kentucky investigated the extraction efficiency of micro- and nano-plastics including polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and a bioplastic polylactic acid from fresh water and saltwater using three hydrophobic NADES. The extraction efficiencies were in a range of 50–93% (maximum […]

Researchers take a closer look at ultra-high stability nanobubbles

Phys.org  July 24, 2023 Bubble technology has proven to be an efficient technique of reducing environmental pollution, strengthening water treatment procedures, and increasing production in industrial and agricultural applications. Nanobubbles (NBs) in liquids have several intriguing properties, including low buoyancy, high mass transfer efficiency, and high reactivity. In particular, NBs smaller than 200 nm are unexpectedly stable. However, determining the underlying mechanism of the stability of NBs in a solution is difficult. Researchers in South Korea investigated the number and stability of high-concentration NBs under various conditions. The results showed that the number and concentration of NBs can be maintained […]

Superworms capable of munching through plastic

Science Daily  June 9, 2022 Polystyrene is among the most common forms of plastic, but recycling it is not easy and the vast majority ends up in landfills or ocean. Researchers in Australia discovered that superworms can survive on a sole polystyrene diet, and even gain a small amount of weight—compared to a starvation control group. They analyzed the microbial gut community and found which gene-encoded enzymes were involved in degrading the plastic. One way to put the findings to use would be to provide super worms with food waste or agricultural bioproducts to consume alongside polystyrene. But while breeding […]

Engineers clean up water pollution with sunlight

Science Daily  August 11, 2021 Researchers at the Michigan Technological University have developed a comprehensive reactive activity model that shows how singlet oxygen’s reaction mechanisms perform against a diverse group of contaminants and computes their half-life in a natural aquatic environment. The rate of indirect-sunlight-initiated chemical oxidation is unique to the body of water; singlet oxygen plays a partial role in degrading the toxins in harmful algal blooms and in breaking down the excess nitrogen and phosphorus produced by agricultural runoff. It can oxidize chemicals in drinking water or wastewater treatments. With the half-life calculations established by their model, the […]

Tiny, self-assembling traps capture dangerous pollutants, PFAS

Science Daily  May 27, 2020 To find out whether molecular cages could help trap PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) a team of researchers in the US (SUNY Buffalo) screened about a dozen different types of self-assembling cages that contain metals. This process led the team to the iron-based cages, which captured a subset of PFAS with chains of six or more fluorinated carbon atoms, including perfluorocarboxylic acids, sulfonic acids and fluorotelomers. Through analysis they found that the PFAS stick strongly to the outside of the cages instead of getting caught inside. The study gives scientists new knowledge that could help them […]

Engineered sand zaps storm water pollutants

Science Daily  August 30, 2018 To provide a passive, low-cost means of oxidizing substituted phenols, aromatic amines, and other electron-rich organic compounds during infiltration of contaminated waters, an international team of researchers (USA – UC Berkeley, the Netherlands) coated sand with manganese oxide using a new approach involving the room-temperature oxidation of Mn2+ with permanganate. The coated sand effectively oxidized bisphenol A under typical infiltration conditions and sustained reactivity longer than previously described geomedia. The results suggest that it is possible to regenerate the oxidative capacity of manganese oxide-coated sands without excavating stormwater infiltration systems and manganese oxide geomedia may […]