Emily Chan
Once it’s mixed with water and given time to separate again, the solvent floats back to the surface and carries the nanoplastics with it.
When the researchers used a pipette to suck up the top layer of liquid, they found that they could remove almost all the nanoplastic beads from their water samples. In saltwater, 99.8 percent of pollutants were extracted.
The team tested five different sizes of polystyrene-based nanoplastics, which are commonly used in the manufacturing of Styrofoam cups.
Their results were more successful than those of previous studies that experimented with a single size of plastic particles.
It is hoped that additional studies will improve the technique so it can be applied to larger bodies of water, such as lakes and oceans.
“Currently, the capacity of these solvents is not well understood. In future work, we aim to determine the maximum capacity of the solvent. Additionally, we will explore methods to recycle the solvents, enabling their reuse multiple times if necessary,” said Gary Baker, a co-author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the university.
