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Biobased Composite Aerogels for Efficient Flow-Through Capture of Nanoplastics via Multimodal Interfacial Interactions
Summary
Scientists created a new sponge-like filter made from natural materials that can remove nearly 100% of tiny plastic particles from water. These nanoplastics are so small they're invisible to the naked eye but pose potential health risks when they get into drinking water. The filter works efficiently with very little energy, offering a promising way to clean up water contaminated with plastic pollution.
Nanoplastics (NPs) represent an emerging class of hazardous pollutants that necessitate rapid, facile, and low-energy removal strategies. However, the efficient treatment of NPs in a large water volume remains a significant challenge. Herein, a biobased composite aerogel composed of cellulose nanofiber (CNF), chitosan (CS), and graphene oxide (GO) was designed with large vertical aligned opened pores to capture the NPs by its hierarchical structures and rich interface interaction forces. The obtained biobased composite aerogel had extraordinary adsorption capability of 601 mg/g for polystyrene (PS) NPs and exhibited an ultrahigh flux of 2.4 × 10<sup>4</sup> L/(m<sup>2</sup>·h) under low pressure at only 0.01 bar. Even at 7 h of continuous feeding with 50 mg/L initial concentration (50 mg packing quality), it achieved nearly 100% removal efficiency. The biobased composite aerogel represented a useful, straightforward, and low-energy-consuming next-generation technology for continuous remediation of NPs in water, offering a promising solution for clean water restoration.
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