Eliminating plastic particles polluting the water we drink, even when they sometimes measure no more than a thousandth of a millimeter, seems like an impossible task. Yet, researchers now propose an incredibly simple solution.
Microplastics and Nanoplastics: A Ubiquitous Problem
Found in the soil we tread, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe, microplastics and nanoplastics are everywhere.
Researchers are developing techniques to eliminate them due to their potential significant effects on the environment and our health.
Complex filtration systems have been designed to capture these microplastics and nanoplastics (NMP) in water.
Boiling Water to Eliminate Plastics
Researchers from the Guangzhou Medical University (China) have presented a remarkably simple method in the Environmental Science & Technology Letters that could drastically reduce the amount of nanoplastics and microplastics we ingest by hydrating.
The process involves boiling our water.
The Science Behind the Solution
The researchers worked with hard water, high in minerals, especially calcium and magnesium salts, which tend to naturally form calcium carbonate (limestone) when heated.
They observed that this calcium carbonate forms crystalline structures that encapsulate nanoplastics and microplastics.
The remaining step would then be to clean the limestone accumulations loaded with NMP. To eliminate those still floating, water can be filtered using a simple coffee filter.
Microplastics Trapped in Limestone
Boiling hard water containing 300 milligrams of calcium carbonate per liter for 5 minutes can eliminate 90% of floating NMP.
Even for water with only 60 milligrams of calcium carbonate per liter, boiling can remove about 25% of nanoplastics and microplastics.
This is particularly interesting considering that the optimal concentration for water consumption is between 80 and 100 milligrams of calcium carbonate per liter.
This simple yet effective method offers a promising avenue for reducing our intake of harmful microplastics and nanoplastics, leveraging the natural properties of hard water and the process of boiling.
