Mizzou Scientists Achieve More than 98% Efficiency Removing Nanoplastics from Water

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University of Missouri scientists are battling against an emerging enemy of human health: nanoplastics. Much smaller in size than the diameter of an average human hair, nanoplastics are invisible to the naked eye.

University of Missouri scientists are battling against an emerging enemy of human health: nanoplastics. Much smaller in size than the diameter of an average human hair, nanoplastics are invisible to the naked eye.

Linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in people, nanoplastics continue to build up, largely unnoticed, in the world’s bodies of water. The challenge remains to develop a cost-effective solution to get rid of nanoplastics while leaving clean water behind.

That’s where Mizzou comes in. Recently, researchers at the university created a new liquid-based solution that eliminates more than 98% of these microscopic plastic particles from water.

Read more at: University of Missouri

“Our strategy uses a small amount of designer solvent to absorb plastic particles from a large volume of water,” said Gary Baker, an associate professor in the University of Missouri’s Department of Chemistry. Photo Credit: University of Missouri