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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Environmental Sources Food & Water Human Health Effects Marine & Wildlife Remediation Sign in to save

Hybrid Chitin-Coffee Ground Biochar Foam for Microplastic Adsorption

American journal of student research. 2026 Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Yuhan Wang

Summary

Researchers developed a sustainable hybrid foam made from waste seafood chitin and used coffee ground biochar for filtering microplastics from water. The study found that the foam achieved consistently high adsorption efficiency across seawater, river water, and deionized water, particularly for polystyrene microspheres larger than 1 micrometer, offering an eco-friendly approach to microplastic removal.

Polymers
Study Type Environmental

Microplastics threaten ecosystems and human health. Based on the existing microplastic adsorption solutions, we hypothesized a sustainable filtration method based on a hybrid chitin-coffee ground biochar foam made of β/α-chitin foam from waste seafood and coffee ground biochar from used coffee grounds to adsorb microplastic particles in water would be efficient. The hybrid chitin-coffee ground biochar foam achieved consistently high adsorption efficiency in seawater and showed strong performance for fluorescent PS microspheres larger than 1 μm in deionized water, river water and seawater. This adsorption performance resulted from the combined effects of electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic, and π–π interactions. This study demonstrates that waste-derived materials were able to offer a low-cost, environmentally friendly, and efficient solution for microplastic adsorption from water.

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