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Jet Drop Enrichment: A Low-Cost Method for Simultaneous PFAS and Microplastics Removal from Drinking Water
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and tiny microplastics are two of the hardest contaminants to remove from drinking water, and this study proposes a surprising solution: harnessing the micro-bubbles that naturally burst at a water surface, which fling surface-active pollutants into tiny airborne droplets that can be collected. The method achieved up to 99% removal of long-chain PFAS and fine microplastics simultaneously, and when combined with a resin pre-treatment step, also captured shorter-chain PFAS at over 90% efficiency. This bubble-based approach is low-energy, low-cost, and could complement existing water treatment infrastructure.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and fine microplastics (MPs, 1–10 μm) are emerging contaminants in drinking water that conventional treatment technologies struggle to remove. Here we developed a sustainable and low-cost approach that harnesses jet drops generated by bursting bubbles to collect pollutants, achieving simultaneous removal of PFAS and MPs. Our results show that both long-chain PFAS (PFOS, PFNA, PFDA, PFOA, and PFHxS) and fine MPs become highly enriched at the air–water interface and are efficiently transferred into jet drops, yielding removal efficiencies of up to 99% for long-chain PFAS and MPs. In contrast, short-chain PFAS exhibit lower removal because of their weaker surface activity. To address this limitation, we coupled an anion-exchange resin (AER) pretreatment with jet drop enrichment (JDE). The combined JDE+AER system raises short-chain PFAS removal to over 90% while cutting material use and costs. This work illuminates interfacial removal mechanisms and offers a scalable, economical, and environmentally benign option for advanced drinking water treatment.
More Papers Like This
Jet Drop Enrichment: A Low-Cost Method for Simultaneous PFAS and Microplastics Removal from Drinking Water
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a low-cost water treatment method that uses the tiny droplets formed when bubbles burst at a water surface to simultaneously remove both PFAS ('forever chemicals') and fine microplastics from drinking water, achieving up to 99% removal of long-chain PFAS and microplastics. Adding a low-cost ion-exchange resin extended the approach to short-chain PFAS as well. This is significant because conventional water treatment struggles with both contaminants, and this bubble-based method offers a simple, scalable solution with minimal materials.
Micro-Nanobubble Integrated Dissolved Air Flotation: A High-Efficiency Strategy for Microplastic Mitigation in Wastewater
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Researchers optimized a dissolved air flotation system using combined micro- and nanobubbles and achieved up to 97% removal of polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics from synthetic wastewater, outperforming either bubble size alone by enhancing bubble-particle interactions and promoting hydrophobic floc formation.
Enrichment of microplastic pollution by micro-nanobubbles
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Researchers investigated micro-nanobubbles as a novel technique for concentrating and removing microplastic pollution from water, finding that bubble-particle interactions can significantly enrich microplastic concentrations and offer a promising avenue for remediation.
Jet Drop Enrichment: A Low-Cost Method for Simultaneous PFAS and Microplastics Removal from Drinking Water
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This is a duplicate of entry 1099 — the same paper on using jet drop enrichment to remove PFAS and microplastics from drinking water.
Utilization of Bubbles and Oil for Microplastic Capture from Water
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Researchers demonstrated a simple method using vegetable oil and air bubbles to capture over 98% of microplastics from water, achieving complete removal of larger particles and high capture of microfibers — a potentially passive, low-cost cleanup approach that avoids releasing secondary contamination into treated water.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.