Top 5 scientific discoveries of 2021 by the daily newspaper Le Soleil.
The new process for destroying microplastics in wastewater discovered by CentrEau member researcher Prof. Patrick Drogui and his team has been named among the top 5 scientific discoveries of 2021 by the daily newspaper Le Soleil.
Microplastics are an environmental problem as they absorb and concentrate other pollutants, in addition to being swallowed by marine organisms. Thus, it is necessary to eliminate them. Most methods of removing microplastics from water involve filtering them. The fact remains, however, that these plastics must be destroyed in some way not subsequently, which does not really solve the problem. Another way is the photocatalyst degradation of microplastics. However, this method involves having to wait a long time to obtain reasonable degradations, that is to say around two weeks. The method of Prof. Drogui, on the other hand, allows microplastics to be destroyed at the source with short lead times.
The new process consists in passing an electric current through the polluted water. First, it oxidizes the microplastics on the surface of the electrodes through which the electric current comes out. Then there is the possibility that the electric current generates oxidizing substances that chemically attack plastics. For the moment, only artificially polluted water has been tested, but the results are promising and have also been seen around the world: In just one hour, 58% of the microplastics could be eliminated by this method and 89% in six hours.
To find out more, read the article of December 30, 2021 from Le Soleil » (in French)
