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Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

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21–30 of 75 posts

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#21
post #9

Does anyone else approach these "teen invents x" or "wiz kid middle schooler discovers y" articles with extreme skepticism? About half the time the invention turns out to be bogus or trivial, and in the other half it comes to light the parents were behind it.

So there I was, kayaking in an oil spill

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#22
post #16
post #6

TLDR: a non-polar, non-toxic, ferromagnetic agent is added to the contaminated water. Plastic particles then attach to the agent due to their non-polar nature. The ferromagnetic agent with absorbed micro plastics subsequently can be removed by a magnet. The process removes >90% of micro plastics. [Updated for clarity]

How come a magnet attracts plastic particles?

As I understand it, he 'glues' metal to the plastic. The magnet picks up the metal, and the glued-on plastic comes along for the ride.

Now anyone with basic chemical knowledge will probably shoot me for abusing the word glued like this, so feel free to correct.

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#23

Awesome, I remember have read about this. But how is going the project today?

Googling his name brings up his website. Not sure it is being deployed yet. Would be nice to hear from experts in the field if this method has garnered any interest.

https://www.fionnferreira.com/about

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#24
post #2

Seems like a clever solution but not sure how scalable it is for cleaning the ocean. Cleaning the water would require pumping it which has to be super expensive. Maybe a such a filter at the end of residential waste pipes might be an appropriate application.

The application of it is not intended to clean the ocean. As you say, you're supposed to put it in the (washing machine, dishwasher, waste etc.) before it gets to the ocean.

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#25
post #9

Does anyone else approach these "teen invents x" or "wiz kid middle schooler discovers y" articles with extreme skepticism? About half the time the invention turns out to be bogus or trivial, and in the other half it comes to light the parents were behind it.

This sort of comment crops up every time an article like this comes on HN. No doubt often times parents bring their kids along for the ride but no one bats and eye when we talk about our youth and learning to program as a 14 year old or something, why be surprised an 18 year old has come up with such an idea based on basic chemistry?

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#26
post #6

TLDR: a non-polar, non-toxic, ferromagnetic agent is added to the contaminated water. Plastic particles then attach to the agent due to their non-polar nature. The ferromagnetic agent with absorbed micro plastics subsequently can be removed by a magnet. The process removes >90% of micro plastics. [Updated for clarity]

What is the cost of such agent and is the agent in itself toxic would be my first questions ...

It's vegetable oil mixed with iron oxide (magnetite), so I'd expect indigestion if you consume it in large quantities. Other than that it's probably harmless.

I wonder if the agent is reusable or whether you end up with clean water and waste-oil which you need to dispose of.

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#28
post #9

Does anyone else approach these "teen invents x" or "wiz kid middle schooler discovers y" articles with extreme skepticism? About half the time the invention turns out to be bogus or trivial, and in the other half it comes to light the parents were behind it.

Even if it's not a bogus, they are rarely practical. Just like when adult hobbyists invent these things and they work, the engineering constraints of cost and scalability or negative side effects usually kill the project.

In this example, how much vegetable oils and magnetite powder you need per cubic meter of water?

Re: Irish teen invents magnetic liquid trap to remove microplastics in water (2019)

#29

We just have to be careful so that "the cure doesn't become deadlier than the disease": in case some magnetic particles are left in it could cause greater issues perhaps than plastic. We can't just assume that "yeah don't worry bro the magnets will surely remove all magnetic particles".

The magnetic particles are iron oxide, it's fairly common in nature. Adding too much of it to water will turn it brown and cause issues, but small quantities shouldn't pose too much of a problem.
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