I was wondering this literally yesterday... are there any current methods for filtering out microplastics? Currently I just have a filter within my fridge for drinking water... but I take it that doesnt do much
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UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
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Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#22I guess it's not possible to design a tea bag that's not made out of plastic but that can also survive the boiling hot temperatures?
No, that's very possible. The problem is our obsession with making everything single-serve and disposable. I think this is what you are looking for:
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#23I guess it's not possible to design a tea bag that's not made out of plastic but that can also survive the boiling hot temperatures?
believe it or not but it's OK to consume the tea leaves and drink slightly bitter tea ;). if you accept this the solution is just not to have tea bags at all. brew with the leaves and drink immediately, and if you forget, enjoy your bitterer tea!
You can also get a re-usable metal mesh infuser.
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#24I wonder if we could build a huge floating "island of plants" in the great pacific garbage patch?
This method is for microplastics. The garbage patch is not micro plastics.
"For many people, the idea of a 'garbage patch' conjures up images of an island of trash floating on the ocean. In reality, these patches are almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics. Microplastics can’t always be seen by the naked eye. Even satellite imagery doesn’t show a giant patch of garbage. The microplastics of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can simply make the water look like a cloudy soup. This soup is intermixed with larger items, such as fishing gear and shoes.
"The seafloor beneath the Great Pacific Garbage Patch may also be an underwater trash heap. Oceanographers and ecologists recently discovered that about 70 percent of marine debris actually sinks to the bottom of the ocean" (https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-paci...)
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
are tea bags even necessary? people managed drinking tea before plastic was invented
Environmental cost of using and washing a teapot is likely higher than that of using a teabag and brewing directly in the cup.
Metal tea balls are also available to brew tea.
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#26I guess it's not possible to design a tea bag that's not made out of plastic but that can also survive the boiling hot temperatures?
I rarely see plastic tea bags here in the US (outside of Starbucks). Most use filter paper.
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#27Anybody want to drop in and burst my bubble? This sounds very promising!
Sure, it works in vitro. Call me when it's in vivo!
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#28Anybody want to drop in and burst my bubble? This sounds very promising!
How does it perform in the real world, where water is contaminated with far more than microplastic - is this filter selective for plastic or will it get gummed up by literally anything? Is the solution scalable? What does it cost?
I don't know how much you know about water filtration plants, but in the real world everything is a series of filters, each more fine-grained than the one before it. You would never use this on unfiltered ocean or waste water - it would be yet-another-stage in the filtration pipeline, after many of the others and possibly before a few more.
Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#29Re: UBC device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9 per cent of microplastics in water
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
are tea bags even necessary? people managed drinking tea before plastic was invented
Environmental cost of using and washing a teapot is likely higher than that of using a teabag and brewing directly in the cup.
If you're washing your teapot, you're doing it wrong. A light rinse is enough. Over time a patina will build up on the inner walls of the pot, some say this makes the tea better.