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Pollen-Engraved Dual Porosity Ceramic Beads From Liquid Marbles for Environmental Remediation.
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Researchers used liquid droplets coated with pollen and a light-cured material to create small ceramic beads with tiny pores. In lab tests, these beads removed heavy metal ions and nanoplastics from water up to 2.88 times more effectively, with different pollen types capturing different pollutants.
Liquid marbles, renowned for their non-wetting behavior, have been extensively investigated in the fields of controlled delivery, droplet reactors, and biomaterial storage. However, the transition in wetting interactions between the liquid droplet and the coating particles has not been clearly studied, and leveraging this transformation for new applications remains unexplored. Here, we use UV irradiation along with mechanical vibration to switch the wetting state at the liquid marble interface from Cassie-Baxter to Cassie-impregnating during a one-step process that converts liquid marbles into ceramic green bodies. Renewable biowaste pollen is, for the first time, employed to impart both surface patterning and internal porosity together with a photocured polymer, yielding dual-porosity ceramic adsorbents that achieve up to 2.88 times higher pollutant removal efficiency, particularly for heavy metal ions and nanoplastics. Furthermore, different pollen species exhibit distinct pollutant selectivity, underscoring their potential for environmental remediation.
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Inherently Micro/Nano‐Patterned and Hydrophobic‐Hydrophilic Inlay Natural Material Assembly for Efficient Nanoplastics Removal
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Researchers developed an eco-friendly sponge made from natural pollen and chitin that can efficiently remove nanoplastics from contaminated water. The material achieved an adsorption capacity of over 236 milligrams per gram by combining hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties to attract and trap tiny plastic particles. The study demonstrates that nature-inspired materials could offer a sustainable and effective approach to cleaning nanoplastic pollution from wastewater.
A green approach: Utilizing untreated pine pollen grains as a natural biosorbent for microplastic removal from water systems
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Researchers tested untreated pine pollen grains as a natural, chemical-free material for removing microplastics from water and achieved removal rates of up to 95 percent for certain plastic types. The pollen's porous surface and natural functional groups enabled it to capture microplastics through electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, with performance further boosted by adding common surfactants. The study presents a promising low-cost, eco-friendly approach to filtering microplastic pollution from water systems.
Molecular Mechanisms Governing the Adsorption, Deposition, and Removal of Environmentally Aged Microplastics by Engineered Surfaces
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Scientists figured out how tiny plastic particles that have been weathered in the environment stick to different surfaces, then used this knowledge to create a new material that can remove over 92% of these microplastics from water. This breakthrough could lead to better filters and cleanup systems to remove microplastics from drinking water and the environment. Since microplastics are found everywhere from our food to our bloodstream, having effective ways to remove them could help protect human health.
Removal of Microplastics and Performance of a Developed Ceramic Filter
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Researchers developed a ceramic filter from clay and waste glass with varying porogenic agent content and firing temperatures, then evaluated water permeability, element leaching, and microplastic removal efficiency. The formulation without a porogenic agent achieved the highest microplastic removal rate of nearly 99.8%, demonstrating that optimizing porosity and filtration pressure is key to effective and affordable microplastic filtration.
Interfacial capture of microplastics by a superhydrophobic COF–zeolite medium: Performance and multiscale mechanisms
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Researchers created a water-repellent filter material, coating zeolite with special chemical layers, to capture microplastics from stormwater in lab tests. The modified material removed much more plastic (PP, PE, and PET) than untreated zeolite, with PET captured most effectively, and stayed water-repellent even under salty, acidic, or abrasive conditions.
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