Two teenagers from Woodlands, Texas, have developed a groundbreaking device to tackle one of the most pervasive pollution problems on Earth: microplastics. These tiny plastic particles are found everywhere, from the depths of the ocean to the peaks of Mount Everest, and even in our food and water.
Microplastics: An Invisible Threat
Microplastics are alarmingly common. Studies suggest that each person ingests and inhales a credit card’s worth of plastic each week. These particles can lodge in our lungs, blood, breastmilk, and even testicles. While the long-term health effects of microplastics are still being studied, many chemicals found in plastics are linked to cancer, fertility issues, developmental problems, and hormone disruption.
A Teen-Inspired Solution
Seventeen-year-olds Victoria Ou and Justin Huang decided to address this pressing issue. They created a device that uses ultrasonic sound waves to remove microplastics from water, a method never successfully employed before. Their invention earned them first place in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles, along with the $50,000 Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations.
How It Works
The device, roughly the size of a pen, uses high-frequency sound waves to filter out microplastics. It consists of a tube with two stations of electric transducers. As water flows through, the ultrasound waves create pressure that pushes microplastics back while allowing the water to pass through, resulting in clean, microplastic-free water.
Ou and Huang tested their device on three common types of microplastics: polyurethane, polystyrene, and polyethylene. Remarkably, the device can remove between 84% and 94% of microplastics in a single pass, showing great potential for practical applications.
Real-World Applications
The teenagers envision their technology being used in various settings, including wastewater treatment plants, industrial textile facilities, sewage treatment plants, and rural water sources. On a smaller scale, it could be adapted for use in household appliances like laundry machines and fish tanks.
However, the young inventors recognize the need for further refinement. “This is the first year we’ve done this,” Huang said. “If we could refine this — maybe use more professional equipment, maybe go to a lab instead of testing from our home — we could really improve our device and get it ready for large-scale manufacturing.”
The Path to Innovation
Their journey began last fall when Ou and Huang visited a water treatment plant while brainstorming for their ISEF project. They discovered that such facilities lack tools to remove microplastics from wastewater since the EPA does not regulate these particles. This realization prompted them to focus on creating an effective solution.
Existing methods for microplastic removal, such as chemical coagulants and physical filters, have significant drawbacks. Chemical coagulants can pollute the environment and disrupt the pH of purified water, while physical filters tend to clog easily. Biological solutions, like using enzymes to break down plastics, are not efficient enough for large-scale use. “Current solutions aren’t really effective,” Huang emphasized.
Looking to the Future
Ou and Huang’s device is still in its early stages, and they are aware of the challenges ahead. “To reach that stage, I think we need a lot more processing,” Ou said. “This is a pretty new approach. We only found one study that was trying to use ultrasound to predict the flow of particles in water, but it didn’t completely filter them out yet.”
Huang is hopeful about the future. “I hope we just are able to be able to scale this up, but first we have to refine it because this technology is still at its infancy,” he said.
Ongoing Microplastic Research
Recent studies highlight the pervasive threat of microplastics. Research by the University of New Mexico found microplastics in the brains and other organs of mice after just four weeks of exposure to contaminated water. This finding raises concerns about long-term human exposure. Dr. Eliseo Castillo, a professor at the University of New Mexico, noted, “These mice were exposed for four weeks. Now, think about how that equates to humans, if we’re exposed from birth to old age.”
A Promising Future
With their innovative device and the significant prize to further their research, Ou and Huang are poised to make a substantial impact in the fight against microplastic pollution. “We were just happy being able to go to ISEF,” Ou reflected. “Originally, we weren’t expecting too much, but getting first place and the top award is much more than we ever expected.”
Huang echoed this sentiment: “This is something that I’ve been dreaming of my whole life, so I’m still pinching myself trying to figure out if this is real or not.”
Their journey underscores the power of innovation and the potential for young minds to tackle some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
