It is no secret that a huge accumulation of plastic waste pose a serious threat to the ecosystem of the oceans. Scientists from the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) has developed a filter system that is able to grasp tiny bits of plastic before they will be in the natural pond. Moreover, the filter destroys them, using ordinary sunlight.

Usually, the sunlight destroys the plastic in the process of photocatalytic oxidation. However, it lasts many years. A team of Swedish scientists jointly with the company of PP Polymer AB has developed a membrane, accelerating the process.

The membrane consists of nano-sized wires with a coating of semiconductor material that absorbs visible sunlight and uses it to recycling plastic particles. In practice, such a filter system that catches them in water, and when sunlight hits the material, contaminants are broken down to water and CO2.

System test should begin as early as this month. New filters will be installed in the Sewerage pipes inside the houses and at the final stage of purification in wastewater treatment plants.


Source — KTH Royal Institute of Technology