A Simple Two-Step Process Can Remove Microplastics from Drinking Water

Microplastics are everywhere. These are the conclusions of study after study that have found tiny plastic fragments, measuring less than 5 millimeters wide, in increasingly concerning locations in our bodies and environment.

Microplastics Build Up In Our Bodies

A 2019 study estimated that individuals consume hundreds of microplastic particles per day. Subsequent research suggests that the brain accumulates more of these plastics than other organs. The rate of accumulation within our bodies mirrors how plastic waste has built up across the planet.

The plastics are released from cooking equipment, clothing, and a range of other household objects. They don’t easily break down and have been found on every continent, including near the summit of Mount Everest, in the deepest ocean trenches, and, according to the British Antarctic Survey, even in Antarctic snow drifts.

Scientists are increasingly concerned about the potential impact of these fragments on the human body. The molecules may cause inflammation in tissues and be linked to conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and reproductive problems, according to a Stanford Medicine report.

Researchers in China say you might at least be able to remove microplastics from your drinking water with a relatively simple hack. While wastewater treatment plants aim to remove these particles, a study in Science of the Total Environment suggests that these interventions are not fully effective at cleaning the water supply.

The researchers, who published their findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, tested whether they could successfully remove microplastics from both hard and soft tap waters.

The team also tested whether their technique could remove even smaller nanoplastics, particles with a size range between one nanometer and one micrometer.

How To Remove Microplastics From Drinking Water

The research team boiled the water, then filtered out any precipitates formed. This two-step strategy removed both types of microplastics from the water, but the technique’s efficiency varied significantly across water types. They noted that the strategy removed plastics from harder water more effectively. At 80 mg L−1 of calcium carbonate, which corresponds to very soft tap water, the removal efficiency was only 34 percent. The same technique could remove 90 percent of microplastics and nanoplastics from very hard water, with calcium carbonate levels of 300 mg L−1.

After boiling, the plastics become trapped within limescale precipitates; therefore, higher water hardness, which produces more lime, yields improved removal efficiency. These are the same precipitates that form inside kitchen kettles after boiling water in areas with high water hardness.

This can then be removed with simple filters, such as metal filters used to strain tea.

“This simple boiling-water strategy can ‘decontaminate’ [nano- and microplastics] from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of [nano- and microplastics] through water consumption,” write the researchers in their paper.

Boiling water is already a process recommended for emergencies when toxins or microbes may have entered our drinking water supply. If the rising levels of microplastics in our environment are not addressed, they are likely to become another emergency requiring us to boil our drinking water.

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