The substances behind the viscous strings of the Gombo and the frost of fenugreek seeds could better trap microplastics than a commonly used synthetic polymer.
Researchers in Texas proposed in 2022 Use these tight natural polymers to clean water. Now they have found that extracts from Gombo and / or Fenugreek attracted and removed up to 90% of the microplastics from ocean, fresh water and groundwater.
With the financing of the American energy department, Rajani Srinivasan and his colleagues from the Tarleton State University have revealed that polymers based on plants from Gombo, Fenugreek and Tamarin are held at microplastics, regrouping and flowing for easy separation of water.
In this next step in research, they have optimized the process for extracts from Gombo and Fenugreek and tested the results in a variety of water types.
To extract sticky plant polymers, the team dipped trenched trenches and fenugreek seeds mixed in water -separated water containers overnight. Then the researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them in a powder.
Analyzes published in The American Chemical Society Journal has shown that powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. The initial pure water tests enriched with microplastics have shown that:
- A gram of powder in a quarter (one liter) of microplastics trapped by water most effectively.
- Extracts from Gombo and Dried Fenugreek eliminated 67% and 93%, respectively, of plastic in an hour.
- A mixture of equal parts of gombo and fenugreek powder has reached maximum elimination efficiency (70%) in 30 minutes.
- Natural polymers worked significantly better than the synthetic polyacrylamide polymer available in the trade used in the treatment of wastewater.
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Then the researchers tested plant extracts on real polluted microplastic water. They collected samples in waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the laboratory. The efficiency of elimination of plant extract has changed according to the original water source.
Gombo worked better in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%) and combination 1: 1 of Gombo and Fenugreek in fresh water (77%).
The researchers hypothesized that natural polymers had different efficiency because each water sample had different types, sizes and forms of microplastics.
Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Gombo and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and non -toxic alternatives.
“The use of these plant extracts in water treatment will eliminate microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances in treated water,” said Srinivasan in a press release“Reduce long -term health risks for the population”.
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She had previously studied the use of food quality extracts as non -toxic flocculants to eliminate textile pollutants from wastewater and thought: “Why not try microplastics?”
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