A thousand liters of seawater can contain up to 8.3 million particles of microplastics. Until now, identifying these very small particles has been difficult—usually they are only detected once they have accumulated in the bodies of fish. A method developed at VTT utilizes nanocellulose structures for early particle identification. Nanocellulose would allow particles to be captured even before they enter waterways.
“The method provides a way to catch microplastic particles of a size that the human eye cannot detect. These are particles with a diameter of only 100 nanometers.”
"New filtration solutions would allow particles to be captured where they are generated. The solutions could be utilized, for example, in laundry, where microplastic particles are released from fleece clothing and other synthetic fibers. Similarly, we could develop filtration methods for any industry where there is a risk of microplastics being generated and released into waterways."
