An 11th-grade student from Virginia has created a filtration system that removes more than 95% of microplastics from drinking water using ferrofluid, rather than relying on filter membranes.
Mia Heller, who attends Kettle Run High School in Virginia, reportedly developed the system in the wake of growing concerns about microplastics and their presence from the ocean depths to the human body. It is not yet clear how harmful microplastics can be over time, and scientists are trying to find out all possible answers.
The invention of Mia uses a ferrofluid solution that attaches to microplastic molecules. The magnetic field then helps remove these particles from the water, thus making membranes obsolete. Moreover, the ferrofluid can be reused, reducing the number of disposable components required.
It is worth noting that the conditions inspired Heller in her hometown of Warrington, Virginia, where residents face contamination from PFAS and microplastics. As a result, people had to take matters into their own hands, prompting Heller to develop new ideas.
Her experiments began when she realized that her family’s water filtration system required too much maintenance and frequent filter replacements.
“It inspired me to design a filter without the use of membranes, to decrease the costs and maintenance needs associated with water filtration,” Heller said.
Her invention includes three main parts: a water chamber, a ferrofluid chamber, and the part where the whole process takes place.
Microplastics, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition, are particles between 1 nanometer and 5 millimeters, which allows them to bypass existing filtration systems and end up in living organisms. Research published in the source mentioned earlier reveals that over 1,300 species include microplastics.
Matthew J. Campen of the University of New Mexico said that researchers identified these plastics in various human tissues, including the brain and bones. Moreover, it appears that microplastic concentrations in human brains increased by approximately 50% over the last decade.
“There are still a lot of questions as to whether these plastics are really impacting our health at this point,” Campen commented. “There might be issues for cardiovascular disease and potentially neurological disease.”
Heller designed her own turbidity sensor to measure particle concentration in water to test her prototype. During her experiments, it managed to filter out 95.52% of microplastics and collect 87.15% of ferrofluid, exceeding the 70% to over 90% performance usually demonstrated by water treatment plants.
Nevertheless, some issues remain unresolved, such as how to safely dispose of the filtered microplastics without introducing additional pollution. In addition, there is a production issue: while ferrofluid is affordable when used in limited quantities, large-scale production is rather expensive.
As for her prototype, Heller said that it should be implemented at the household level for the time being. At the moment, it may be installed near a kitchen sink, as she continues working on larger scales.
In addition, Heller is currently awaiting professional testing of her prototype.
