We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Scalable Bamboo Fiber/Microfibrillated Cellulose Foam via Solvent‐Exchange‐Assisted Ambient Drying for Highly Efficient Microplastics Capture
Summary
Researchers developed a scalable bamboo fiber and microfibrillated cellulose foam for capturing microplastics from water, achieving 99.4% filtration efficiency with high flow rates. The foam was fabricated using an energy-efficient ambient drying process without toxic crosslinkers, and demonstrated excellent reusability and effectiveness across various plastic types and real water samples. The study presents a sustainable, high-performance approach to microplastic remediation in aquatic environments.
Abstract The pervasive contamination of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic systems demands sustainable and high‐performance purification technologies. However, conventional methods face challenges of energy‐intensive fabrication, low flux, and secondary pollution. Here, a scalable strategy to fabricate bamboo fiber/microfibrillated cellulose (BF/MFC) foam through solvent‐exchange‐assisted ambient drying, circumventing high‐energy consumption drying and toxic crosslinkers, is proposed. The synergistic assembly of bamboo fibers and MFC via hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions constructs a hierarchical porous architecture with a positively charged surface, abundant active sites, and mechanical robustness. The optimized BF/MFC foam conforms to the standard pore‐blocking filtration model, achieving high filtration efficiency (99.4%) and flux (7257.4 L m −2 h −1 ), and high adsorption capacity (720.4 mg g −1 ) through synergistic interactions of physical interception, electrostatic attraction, and hydrogen bonding. This capture system also demonstrates excellent reusability and good purification ability for various plastics and actual water bodies. Furthermore, a viable concept is proposed for value‐added products through the efficient recycling of microplastics. The multiscale self‐densification assembly strategy establishes a sustainable and scalable framework for microplastic remediation in aquatic environments.