Melbourne: Australian researchers have developed an innovative "dual bubble" technique to effectively remove 90% of microplastics from wastewater without dismantling existing systems.
According to Thai News Agency, Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has unveiled this groundbreaking method, which employs microbubbles and nanobubbles to tackle the escalating global pollution issue.
The newly developed technique allows wastewater treatment plants to adopt the dual-bubble method by simply optimizing current operational parameters such as air pressure, gas saturation time, and bubble size. This process negates the need for significant infrastructure modifications. Associate Professor Biplob Pramanik from the institute emphasized that wastewater plants often serve as a major conduit for microplastics to bypass filtration, posing potential environmental and health risks.
This method enhances the efficiency of wastewater separation using dissolved aeration (DAF), a common water treatment process where air bubbles attach to pollutants and raise them to the surface for extraction. The integration of micro and nano-sized air bubbles significantly boosts microplastic removal compared to systems using a single bubble type.
Research indicates that microbubbles generate buoyancy, aiding particles to remain on the water surface, whereas nanobubbles improve particle adhesion and aggregation, leading to superior microplastic removal. The system demonstrates efficacy in real wastewater settings as organic substances like fats and oils do not impair its function, and may even enhance microplastic aggregation.
The research team pointed out that intercepting microplastics at the onset of the wastewater treatment process would lessen their accumulation in sludge and mitigate environmental pollution. They are actively seeking industry partnerships to test and confirm the large-scale effectiveness of this technology.