19.03.2025
New Hydrogel Material Removes Microplastics From Water
A hybrid silica gel, developed by a non-profit start-up in Germany, acts like "magic glue" to remove microplastics from drinking water by making them stick together and float to the surface for easy removal. This gel, developed by the non-profit company Wasser 3.0, is made primarily from carbon and silica, a natural mineral found in sand and rocks. The gel acts as a "glue" that binds microplastic particles together, causing them to form larger clumps that float to the surface of the water. These larger clumps can then be easily skimmed off the surface, effectively removing the microplastics from the water. The research team has achieved a high removal rate, with the gel able to remove 85 to 90% of microplastics in the water. The process is described as low-tech, cheap, and scalable, making it a promising solution for tackling the microplastic pollution problem. The initiative is led by chemist Katrin Schuhen, who founded the non-profit company Wasser 3.0 in 2020, which aims to protect the environment and health in (waste) water purification. It's being implemented in water treatment plants.
Credit: DW
Credit: DW
Poverty deprives people of adequate education, health care and of life's most basic necessities- safe living conditions (including clean air and clean drinking water) and an adequate food supply. The developed (industrialized) countries today account for roughly 20 percent of the world's population but control about 80 percent of the world's wealth.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
