'Fish Mouth' Filter Removes 99% of Microplastics From Laundry Waste (sciencealert.com)
- Reference: 0180513289
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/01/04/1810209/fish-mouth-filter-removes-99-of-microplastics-from-laundry-waste
- Source link: https://www.sciencealert.com/fish-mouth-filter-removes-99-of-microplastics-from-laundry-waste
"Inspired by these natural filtration systems, scientists in Germany have [2]invented a way to remove 99 percent of plastic particles from water . It's based on how some fish filter-feed to eat microscopic prey."
> The research team has already filed a patent in Germany, and in the future, they hope their creation will help curb a ubiquitous [3]form of plastic pollution that many are unaware of. Every time a load of laundry is done, millions of microplastics are washed from the fibers of our clothes into local waterways. By some estimates, up to [4]90 percent of plastic in 'sewage sludge' comes from washing machines. This material is then often used in agriculture as soil or fertilizer, possibly exposing those who eat the resulting crops to these pollutants...
>
> Unlike other plastic filtration systems on the market, this one reduces clogging by 85 percent.
[1] https://www.sciencealert.com/fish-mouth-filter-removes-99-of-microplastics-from-laundry-waste
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s44454-025-00020-2
[3] https://www.sciencealert.com/microplastics-from-synthetic-clothes-are-polluting-land-even-more-than-water
[4] https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EW00397B
Pro Tip: only use the artificial filters (Score:2)
> 'Fish Mouth' Filter Removes 99% of Microplastics From Laundry Waste
I tried putting fish in the washing machine, they got really dizzy - and barfy.
TFA says, synthetic micro fibers (Score:2)
> Every time a load of laundry is done, millions of microplastics are washed from the fibers of our clothes into local waterways.
All my clothes are 100% cotton.
Re: (Score:2)
>> Every time a load of laundry is done, millions of microplastics are washed from the fibers of our clothes into local waterways.
> All my clothes are 100% cotton.
I prefer 100% cotton but a lot of things are like 90-95% cotton with some rayon or polyester thrown in for whatever reason.
Re: (Score:2)
> 60-64% of global fiber production being synthetic
> AId that for you. Do we have a better verb for that by now?
Re: (Score:2)
No love for wool? Silk? Other natural fibers like Hemp?
Re: TFA says, synthetic micro fibers (Score:2)
With captured micro-plastics from everyday life.
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None of your clothes have buttons? Or seams stitched with synthetic thread for durability?
Great news for septic systems (Score:2)
This is fantastic news for septic systems. The problem with this type of waste is the plastic particles clog the microscopic pores in septic field pipes, leading to back ups. Before artificial fabrics, a septic field could last fifty years. Now many people have to dig it up and replace it every five, or else just accept the need to have their septic tank pumped every five years.
Putting a trap on the laundry hose helps, but is still imperfect. After my last field replacement, I investigated a lot of filt
How about portable and home filters (Score:2)
That way people can filter tap water for cooking, drinking and bathing and cleaning, and I want one to take camping with me
Re: (Score:2)
Then you can wash the particles down the sink and reuse the filter!
Isinglass (Score:2)
Isinglass has been used for a very long time in brewing for filtration. It's the reason many filtered beers weren't vegetarian or vegan (e.g. Guinness).
Isinglass comes from the swim bladders of fish, typically sturgeon.
It only in fairly-recent times that artificially made filters have finally caught up -- Guinness only switched from isinglass in 2017!
Re: (Score:2)
We're not killing the fish exclusively for their swim bladder though, we're eating the rest of it.
It would be like how many consider cow leather for clothing more acceptable than mink fur pelts. We're at least eating the rest of the cow, using the leather for clothing is just maximizing use.
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I feel like someone has to be eating those minks, they mostly come from Russia, right?
I must be being dumb (Score:2)
It shaped like an old school coffee filter. Ignoring the fish side of things is this really any more efficient than filters we have available previously?
Re: (Score:2)
It is more complicated than that. It looks to work closer to a commercial desalination plant, in that the filter does have a way to flush solids out without manual cleaning or replacement.
Think like a baleen whale. Solids end up going down the throat, while filtered water is distributed out the side.
So why file a patent? (Score:2)
> The research team has already filed a patent in Germany, and in the future, they hope their creation will help curb a ubiquitous form of plastic pollution...
Only one of those things can be true. If they hope it will benefit society they would not file a patent. Clearly the motive is making buttloads of Euros.
Because someone else will if you don't. (Score:2)
Then they will use it to become rich. Yes, the patent system sucks because it has mostly lost the idea of 'prior art.'
Re: (Score:2)
Why not both? Cut down on plastic pollution and make a bunch of euros? This research work isn't free, after all.
Besides, patenting is a way to keep control, prevent somebody else from parenting, gain name recognition, etc... free and low cost licensing is a thing.
What do they do with it? (Score:2)
So they collect the plastic waste and put it in a land fill where it slowly goes to the ocean??
What we really need is a better way to recycle it.
Re: (Score:2)
Landfills have liners and in principle this shouldn't happen. I guess eventually the liners will break down like everything else.
Re: What do they do with it? (Score:2)
You can't recycle it, stupid. Recycling of plastics, well at least the viability of recycling most plastics back into useful stuff, is the biggest lie of the century. The oil industry made that shit up in the '70s. Most products need virgin feedstock
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Like I said we NEED a way to recycle it. That implies we can't recycle it yet.
Here is a tip. If you want to get rich, take something we can't do now, figure out a way to do it. It's called invention. Has some Science, a lot of Engineering, and some business acumen to keep the money.
My statement implied everything you said. If I am stupid, then you are as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Or they can just burn it. Or use pyrolysis.
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Germany has a practically null rate of waste landfill. See current data [1]https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/a... [europa.eu]
[1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/diversion-of-waste-from-landfill