Scientists have found an easy and effective way of removing microplastics from water.
Plastics that enter our bodies in the form of small fragments are a serious concern, as they enter our bodies in small quantities in solid or liquid form through food and drink. Chinese scientists found an easy and effective means of removing them from water. The team of scientists ran tests in 2024 on both soft water and hard tap water, which is considered richer in minerals. They added in nanoplastics and microplastics and then boiled the liquid, and filtered out any precipitates.
"Tap water nano/microplastics (NMPs) escaping from centralized water treatment systems are of increasing global concern, because they pose potential health risks to humans via water consumption," the researchers from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University write in their published paper, as quoted by online portal Science Alert.
Up to 90% of the NMPs were removed through boiling and filtering in some cases, but the success rate depended on the water type. The major benefit lies in the fact that the majority of people can do it with what they already have in their kitchen. "This simple boiling water strategy can 'decontaminate' NMPs from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of NMPs through water consumption," biomedical engineer Zimin Yu from Guangzhou Medical University and colleagues wrote, Science Alert reported. Higher amounts of NMPs were removed from hard tap water samples, which tend to form limescale (calcium carbonate) buildup when heated.
The chalky substance, which is quite often found inside kitchen kettles, forms on the plastic's surface due to temperature changes that force the calcium carbonate out of solution, effectively trapping the plastic fragments in a crust. "Our results showed that nanoplastic precipitation efficiency increased with increasing water hardness upon boiling," the team wrote.
As far as soft water is concerned, where less calcium carbonate is dissolved, approximately a quarter of the NMPs were captured from the water. According to the researchers, any small pieces of lime-covered plastic can then be removed using a simple filter, like the stainless steel mesh used for straining tea.
"Tap water nano/microplastics (NMPs) escaping from centralized water treatment systems are of increasing global concern, because they pose potential health risks to humans via water consumption," the researchers from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University write in their published paper, as quoted by online portal Science Alert.
Up to 90% of the NMPs were removed through boiling and filtering in some cases, but the success rate depended on the water type. The major benefit lies in the fact that the majority of people can do it with what they already have in their kitchen. "This simple boiling water strategy can 'decontaminate' NMPs from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of NMPs through water consumption," biomedical engineer Zimin Yu from Guangzhou Medical University and colleagues wrote, Science Alert reported. Higher amounts of NMPs were removed from hard tap water samples, which tend to form limescale (calcium carbonate) buildup when heated.
The chalky substance, which is quite often found inside kitchen kettles, forms on the plastic's surface due to temperature changes that force the calcium carbonate out of solution, effectively trapping the plastic fragments in a crust. "Our results showed that nanoplastic precipitation efficiency increased with increasing water hardness upon boiling," the team wrote.
As far as soft water is concerned, where less calcium carbonate is dissolved, approximately a quarter of the NMPs were captured from the water. According to the researchers, any small pieces of lime-covered plastic can then be removed using a simple filter, like the stainless steel mesh used for straining tea.
