Guide: Judging from the current situation, the effective means to prevent and control microplastic pollution must be the combination of accurate detection, source prevention and control, and end treatment, that is, find out the bottom line and come up with a plan.
[ Packaging and Printing Industry Network Industry Trends ] It is said that Israel's Broad Institute of Engineering recently issued a statement saying that under the European Union's GoJelly marine microplastics research project, an international team led by the school found that mucus extracted from some jellyfish helps It is used to capture microparticles in water, which can help to efficiently remove pollutants such as microplastics in water bodies. This study extracted a glycoprotein in jellyfish, and the size of the adsorption particles ranged from about 100 nanometers to 2000 nanometers.
Microplastics generally refer to plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm, and some can even reach the nanoscale, that is, the size is below 1 μm, which is difficult to detect with the naked eye. Therefore, at present, the treatment of microplastics still needs to strengthen technical means. For example, a researcher at Brno University of Technology wanted to use multifunctional MXene oxide microrobots to capture nanoplastics , and microplastics can be captured by portable electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Quantitative detection.
This time, from another direction, the researchers said that if the latest research results of extracting jellyfish mucus can be further used to develop biological filters for wastewater treatment , it can greatly reduce the nano-scale microplastics entering the water and soil.
Wastewater treatment can be regarded as a relatively critical part of microplastic interception at present, so many research directions are also focused on this. In addition to the biofilter mentioned above, in fact, researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne also reported in a study that the nanopowder materials they made were not only from recycled materials, but also mixed with water containing microplastics, Able to separate microplastics in sewage with magnets. What's more, they say this way they can remove microplastics 1,000 times smaller than what wastewater treatment plants can currently detect.
It has to be said that the paths may be different, but in the end they all explored feasible solutions for the removal of microplastics. Judging from the current situation, the effective means to prevent and control microplastic pollution must be the combination of precise detection, source prevention and control, and end treatment , that is, to find out the bottom line and come up with a plan.
In terms of microplastic detection, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and thermal analysis are currently more common methods. "Determination of microplastics in seawater by Fourier transform microscopic infrared Technical standards such as "Technical Specifications for Plastic Monitoring" and "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Tensile Properties of Plastics Using Micro-force Tensile Plastics" provide normative support.
At the same time, with China's emphasis on new pollutants, the monitoring and detection of microplastic pollutants has gradually been included in the schedules of various places . For example, Shandong clearly explores the investigation and monitoring of microplastic pollutants. Jiangsu emphasizes the need to carry out research on the biological effects and hazard mechanisms of new pollutants such as microplastics, food chain safety and health risks. Shanghai has increased the list of key new pollutants. microplastics, etc.
As for the reduction from the source, Environmental Protection online has also been tracking the news of plastic restriction and banning. At present, the state firmly controls the design, production, use, disposal, recycling and other aspects of plastic pollution control, controls disposable plastic products, supports the development and replacement of biodegradable plastic products, and regulates the discharge of sewage into rivers. A lot has already been said about the strict defense of the mouth, the upgrading of sewage treatment plants, the improvement of drinking water standards, the research on the monitoring and treatment of marine microplastics, etc., and so on. I won’t repeat them here.
If you are interested, you can check out the topic list specially set up by Environmental Protection online #Plastic War Quick Resolution, what is the result? # .
All in all, great progress has been made in plastic pollution control and microplastic removal. However, governance is still very difficult and the task is arduous. It is necessary to speed up the implementation of relevant measures, strict supervision, and strong technology to eliminate the environmental and safety hazards caused by microplastics.
