Scientists develop way to remove microplastics from water
KARACHI: A team of researchers from Pakistan and Australia has developed adsorbents in the form of powder, capable of removing microplastics and other contaminants from wastewater at a lightning speed. The material, which looks like ordinary powder, is actually made up of microscopic and ferromagnetic “nanopillard structures”. The carefully-designed particles are composed of two sheets (two-dimensional) of metal-organic framework (MOF), with an array of carbon-encapsulated iron oxide nanopillars sandwiched in a gap between them. A magnet attracts the material that the team used to make adsorbents that remove microplastics and dissolved pollutants from water. PHOTO: RMIT University The design results in a large amount of surface area of 749.7 m2/g, having countless traps which clings even the smallest particles in water. “Existing methods could take days to remove microplastics from water, while our cheap and sustainable invention achieves better result...