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Australian company develops process to remove microplastic out of our water systems
28 February 2020
A Tasmanian company, Evocra, have developed a patented process, known as Ozofractionative Catalysed Reagent Addition (OCRA) to remove microplastic out of our water systems. The process floats the microplastic out of the water where it is collected and sent for recycling.
Microplastics are plastic items smaller than 5mm that are found in everyday products such as sunscreen, shampoo, detergent and shedding of microfiber/ lycra fabrics during clothes washing. They also enter our waterways from industrial manufacturing waste and desiccated plastic litter. If not captured in the treatment plants, they wash into waterways and oceans where they can harm our aquatic wildlife.
The developers say the process has the capability to treat minerals and contaminants in mining, oil and gas extraction, agriculture and aquaculture, high intensity industrial manufacturing, municipal water and wastewater treatment, and contaminated land remediation.
Find out more about the process from the Evocra media release.
Compare International volume of microplastic pollution in this clip which visualises the data of the flow of the 10 most polluting rivers with the largest amount of plastic coming out of the Yangtze River in China.
Additionally meet a young environmental crusader who has developed a underwater remote detection unit to detect microplastics on the ocean floor.
