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Mussel power: Scoping a nature-based solution to microplastic debris
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Researchers proposed using blue mussels as a nature-based solution for microplastic pollution, demonstrating that mussels can filter waterborne microplastics and repackage them into biodeposits that can be captured and removed from aquatic ecosystems.
Microplastics are a prolific environmental contaminant. Curbing microplastic pollution requires an array of globally relevant interventions, including source-reduction and curative measures. A novel, nature-based solution to microplastics is proposed, in which mussels are deployed in aquatic ecosystems to act as microplastic biofilters, removing waterborne microplastics and repackaging them into biodeposits that are subsequently captured and removed. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were used to establish the feasibility of such an approach. In the laboratory, mussels were exposed to representative microplastics in a flume tank; at an initial concentration of 1000 microplastics L, mussels reduced waterborne microplastic concentrations at an average rate of 40,146 microplastics kg h. Mussel faeces sank irrespective of microplastic content, with average sinking velocities of 223-266 m day. Modelling predicts ∼3 × 10 mussels deployed on ropes at the mouths of estuaries could remove 4% of waterborne microplastics discharged from rivers. Mussels were successfully deployed in a prototype biodeposit collection system in an urban marina, with 5.0 kg of mussels removing and repackaging 239.9 ± 145.9 microplastics and anthropogenic particles day into their faeces. These results provide impetus for further development of nature-based solutions targeting plastic debris.
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Capturing marine microplastics with mussel power
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Researchers tested the use of Mytilus edulis (blue mussels) as a biological microplastic capture system, following up on laboratory results showing 5 kg of mussels could filter 200,000 microplastics per hour, by scaling up to 50 kg bespoke cage systems deployed in relevant environmental locations. Phase 2 results demonstrated that mussel cages captured 4.5 times more microplastics than control cages, supporting the feasibility of this nature-based removal approach.
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Researchers scaled up the use of Mytilus edulis (blue mussel) cage systems to capture and sequester microplastics from coastal marine environments, testing 50 kg mussel cage systems with feces collection and pump-based sample retrieval at ecologically relevant locations. Building on laboratory results showing mussels could filter 200,000 microplastics per hour, the study assessed the feasibility of mussel-based biofiltering as a passive environmental remediation strategy.
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