1201
Chemistry / Re: How to remove microplastic particles from potable (drinking) water?
« on: 11/09/2017 00:04:54 »
The problem with simple centrifugation is that some plastics are denser than water, and some less dense, so it is not clear which part of the centrifuged column you should drink!
I was going to suggest distillation, then it occured to me that rainwater is "distilled" and then filtered through the soil, so the only microplastics that might be present in drinking water would be acquired from its transfer through the river system, where the plastic content is surely minimal compared with the oceans? However I now read that river water is contaminated by plastic dust falling from the atmosphere or passing through the sewage system from washing machines, but the answer may lie in the question:
One concern about microplastics is that the particles may provide a refuge for pathogens. Once you have a coating of any living material, it will almost certainly attract a predator, so in principle you could just make a settlement tank and allow it to grow a layer of organic gunge that will bind the plastics into a removable mass.
So I think the questioner's pseudonym contains the best answer: add sugar and yeast, and let the yeasty beasties agglomerate the plastics, then clarify and filter or decant the beer/wine in the usual way.
I was going to suggest distillation, then it occured to me that rainwater is "distilled" and then filtered through the soil, so the only microplastics that might be present in drinking water would be acquired from its transfer through the river system, where the plastic content is surely minimal compared with the oceans? However I now read that river water is contaminated by plastic dust falling from the atmosphere or passing through the sewage system from washing machines, but the answer may lie in the question:
One concern about microplastics is that the particles may provide a refuge for pathogens. Once you have a coating of any living material, it will almost certainly attract a predator, so in principle you could just make a settlement tank and allow it to grow a layer of organic gunge that will bind the plastics into a removable mass.
So I think the questioner's pseudonym contains the best answer: add sugar and yeast, and let the yeasty beasties agglomerate the plastics, then clarify and filter or decant the beer/wine in the usual way.
The following users thanked this post: homebrewer