By Paul Wallis
March 29, 2025
DIGITAL JOURNAL
Many inhabitants of Khartoum are in desperate need of drinking water, with some reopening wells or using pots to draw water from the Nile river - Copyright AFP -
It turns out that microplastics aren’t unbeatable. Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University have discovered an unexpectedly simple fix to reduce microplastic intake in humans.
Make a point of reading that link to Science Alert’s article, because it is fascinating.
The process couldn’t be simpler, and the best results remove 90% of microplastics. Boiling different types of hard and soft water showed that calcium carbonate, which forms limescale in kettles, also traps microplastics.
Yes, it’s the same stuff that you’re told to remove from kettles using vinegar.
This Science Alert video spells out how the process works.
Soft water can be made harder and easier to decontaminate with the addition of minerals and/or simply filtered with steel mesh.
At the macroenvironmental level, plastics are the result of a century of massive production and ignorance. A lot is being done to eliminate persistent exposure with new materials, but it’s a legacy problem for the immediate future.
The major issue is the prevalence and persistence of microplastics. In chemical warfare, a “persistent agent” is a toxic chemical that remains active for a long time.
It may be possible to use similar solutions, pun intended, to decontaminate microplastics in the urban and natural environments. We’re not exactly short of CO2 right now, and there are probably other ways of binding microplastics in these environments.
One thing that the Chinese experiments make very clear is that a cheap, simple fix is far more effective. For macro-scale cleanups, something that can be simply added to the environment and washed away will do.
One of the new methods for eliminating microplastics is to make them easily dissolvable in sea water. For a nice change, we might actually be doing something productive by flushing anything and everything into the sea.
That idea may also translate into good waste management on a global scale. Imagine destroying pollution instead of creating it every time you use the plumbing.
So heat up the kettle, and do your health a favor.
_________________________________________________
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
Many inhabitants of Khartoum are in desperate need of drinking water, with some reopening wells or using pots to draw water from the Nile river - Copyright AFP -
It turns out that microplastics aren’t unbeatable. Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University have discovered an unexpectedly simple fix to reduce microplastic intake in humans.
Make a point of reading that link to Science Alert’s article, because it is fascinating.
The process couldn’t be simpler, and the best results remove 90% of microplastics. Boiling different types of hard and soft water showed that calcium carbonate, which forms limescale in kettles, also traps microplastics.
Yes, it’s the same stuff that you’re told to remove from kettles using vinegar.
This Science Alert video spells out how the process works.
Soft water can be made harder and easier to decontaminate with the addition of minerals and/or simply filtered with steel mesh.
At the macroenvironmental level, plastics are the result of a century of massive production and ignorance. A lot is being done to eliminate persistent exposure with new materials, but it’s a legacy problem for the immediate future.
The major issue is the prevalence and persistence of microplastics. In chemical warfare, a “persistent agent” is a toxic chemical that remains active for a long time.
It may be possible to use similar solutions, pun intended, to decontaminate microplastics in the urban and natural environments. We’re not exactly short of CO2 right now, and there are probably other ways of binding microplastics in these environments.
One thing that the Chinese experiments make very clear is that a cheap, simple fix is far more effective. For macro-scale cleanups, something that can be simply added to the environment and washed away will do.
One of the new methods for eliminating microplastics is to make them easily dissolvable in sea water. For a nice change, we might actually be doing something productive by flushing anything and everything into the sea.
That idea may also translate into good waste management on a global scale. Imagine destroying pollution instead of creating it every time you use the plumbing.
So heat up the kettle, and do your health a favor.
_________________________________________________
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
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