The Microplastics And PFAS Connection
By Cayla Cook and Eva Steinle-Darling
Microplastics, small plastic particles with sizes ranging from 5 millimeters to 1 nanometer with various morphologies such as microfibers, fragments, pellets (nurdles), or microbeads, have received increasing attention, including upcoming statewide monitoring in California.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a group of unique chemically stable compounds and, as a result, have made them highly valuable across a wide range of industrial, commercial, and military uses. However, this feature concomitantly makes them recalcitrant and persistent in nature thus coined “forever” chemicals (Lindstrom et al. 2011, Buck et al. 2011). Recent developments in toxicology, coupled with significant political pressure, have put PFAS on the fast-track for regulation in drinking water and wastewater. While co-occurrence is well-known for a variety of contaminants like triclosan and triclocarban, the connecti
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Guwahati: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati researchers have developed a microfiltration process to remove microplastics from seawater in order to prevent the inclusion of plastic residues in edible salt extracted from it. Prof. Kaustubha Mohanty and Dr. Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, have recently published the results of this research in the journal Environmental Technology & Innovation, in a paper co-authored by their research scholar, Mr. Naveenkumar Ashok Yaranal.
Plastic pollution is rampant all over the world and while there is some level of awareness, the seriousness is not yet understood. Micro-plastics – plastic pieces smaller than one-fifth of an inch – are now found in almost all oceans and marine animals. What’s worse, sea salt has been found to have considerable amounts of micro-plastic. Research performed in East Asia has shown that 90 percent of the table salt brands sampled worldwide has micro-plastics. A
IIT Guwahati researchers develop hollow fiber membrane to remove micro-plastics from seawater
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Prof. Kaustubha Mohanty and Dr. Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, have recently published the results of this research in the journal Environmental Technology & Innovation, in a paper co-authored by their research scholar, Naveenkumar Ashok Yaranal.
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Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati researchers have developed a microfiltration process to remove microplastics from seawater in order to prevent the inclusion of plastic residues in edible salt extracted from it.
Prof. Kaustubha Mohanty and Dr. Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, have recently published the results of this research in the journal Environmental Technology & Innovation, in a paper co-authored by their research scholar, Naveenkumar Ashok Yaranal.
Image Credit: MrDDK/Shutterstock.com
The agricultural sector is dealing with enormous challenges such as rapid climatic changes, a decrease in soil fertility, macro and micronutrient deficiency, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and heavy metal presence in the soil. However, the global population increase has subsequently escalated food demand. Nanotechnology has immensely contributed to sustainable agriculture by enhancing crop production and restoring and improving soil quality.
Nanotechnology is applied in various aspects of agriculture, for example:
Nano-pesticide delivery
Transport of genetic materials for crop development
Application of nano biosensors for rapid detection of phytopathogen and other biotic and abiotic stresses.