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.
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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.