The Problem
Microplastics and microtextile waste in liquid discharges are and act very similarly as smog in the air. Therefore, we adopted the classification of this particulate waste as "plastic smog". - The Feel Good Story is Football and Hockey kits made from recovered plastic waste intercepted on beaches and in coastal communities. - The Full Story is that polyester clothing Recycled from plastic bottles sheds millions of microplastics into lakes, rivers and oceans with every single laundry wash. - Plastic smog emissions from greywater at Waste Water Treatment Plants release half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles. - Microfibres have been found in all of the oceans of the world contaminating the animal and human food webs. • Microbeads and microfibres -such as bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin- are discharged in the wastewater effluent. • Marine life ingests these microplastics and microfibres. • Fish and shellfish that ingest these microplastics and microfibres may end up on our plates. • There are fewer fishes eating more plastics every day that we do not address this issue. - Capturing plastic smog at Waste Water Treatment Plants and converting it into raw materials and finished products
Our Proposal
• The Plastic & Textile Smog Emissions Closed Loop System for Plastic Smog Capture and Utilization (PTSECLS 4 PSCU) recovers wastewater for reuse and captures microplastic and microfibre resources at Waste Water Treatment Plants before being discharged by households, commercial laundromats, the textile washing industry, as well as ports, offshore platforms and ships into our waterways and water bodies • PTSECLS 4 PSCU is not a technology. It is a Circularly Integrated Ecosystem that connects and uses multiple available technological solutions to recover wastewater for re-utilization, prevent plastic smog from contaminating the aquatic food chain and recover microplastic particles, beads, fragments, pellets and microfibres from textiles to convert them into high-value products • PTSECLS 4 PSCU uses Canadian-based David Bromley Engineering DBE Nanoflotation Filtration with Replaceable Skin Layer (RSL) Membranes™ technology to address the challenge of waste from microplastics and microfibres • An added opportunity in the application of the RSL Membranes™ filtration of plastic smog is the ability to separate the microplastic and microfibre deposits and we plan to handle plastic smog as a resource and not as waste. This is the same concept as CanCO2 units to remove pollutants from industrial plant emissions, purifying and compressing CO2 to be stored, transported and used. We propose that plastic smog can be stored and used with technologies developed through multiple partnerships
We Assume that...
1) Synthetic fibres released into the world’s waters through tiny fibres from artificial fabrics like fleeces and polyester are one of the biggest causes of plastic pollution in the ocean.
2) Microfibres are the most abundant form of material found in the ocean, according to a leading expert.
3) Whilst microplastics is a relatively new and emerging topic, it is fast gaining momentum as research uncovers the impact both environmentally and to our bodies.
4) More studies and facts on the effects of Microplastics on Human Health. Microplastics found in human stools for the first time suggest the tiny particles may be widespread in the human food chain.
5) Despite years of warning, we're no closer to a solution to the problem of microfibre pollution of water bodies.
6) WWTPs can substantially reduce microplastics (MPs) pollution discharged from wastewater treatment plants into aquatic environments.
Constraints to Overcome
• Waste Water Treatment Plants are the key interface between the urban water cycle and the natural aquatic environment • Present wastewater treatment systems and plants are not designed to capture these microparticles • “The water industry has no current experience or technologies to separate out microplastics, and treatment of microplastics by the water industry has never been explored” • According to investors, we have approached, solving microplastic pollution in water is too early-stage for an investment. • "A separate study by Manchester University found that the River Tame at Denton, the U.K., ranked as the worst in the world for microplastics. We know others might be worse, we just haven’t tested them yet. The fund managers who dominate ownership of the UK’s water companies have no interest in collaborating to develop a water system fit for a dry future. And they will say that micro-plastics were not put in the water by them, so why should they pay for the clean-up."
Current Work
RSL Membranes™ filtration technology is at the pre-commercial stage with funding from Sustainable Technology Development Canada STDC for use in wastewater from the oil and gas industry. It uses concentrated ionically charged nano environments to cause repulsion of colloidal solids followed by attachment of solids. The repulsion and attachment processes result in a rapid, low energy method to separate colloidal solids from fluids. Testing: We have not tested RSL Membranes™ filtration for plastic smog emissions but we anticipate a high-level of microplastic and microfibre capture. Primary work tasks and activities over the next 3 to 6 months: - Deploy DBE's 500 litres per day RSL Membrane™ pilot plant that requires a floor area of 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres to a location on land to treat typical ship greywater and run five 8-hour tests. - Shipping greywater to DBE's OMR test facility in Chicago for testing. - Publish our findings.
Current Needs
- Testing partners (Ships, Yachts, Offshore Platforms, Ports, Waste Water Treatment Plants, Water Treatment Research Centres) - Funding - Communication support (Marketing, Advertising, Branding)