Microplastic-Collecting Bacteria
Microbiologists are Using Bacteria to Remove Polluting Plastics
Colin Smith — December 22, 2022
Professor Song Lin Chua led a team of microbiologists to create a bacterial biofilm capable of collecting microplastics polluted into the ocean. This biofilm immobilizes microplastics and captures them in a net trap before grouping them together, creating a heavy ball of microplastics. This ball can then be collected and retrieved, effectively reducing the amount of microplastics present in the ocean one group at a time.
Dr. Joanna Sadler, a Researcher at the University of Edinburgh, commented: “One of the biggest challenges in dealing with microplastics is capturing such small particles so they can be degraded and removed from the environment. Liu and co-workers have demonstrated an elegant solution to this problem, which holds great potential to be further developed into a real-world wastewater treatment technology.”
It is important to note that there are still challenges with this bacterial biofilm that prevent it from being ready for large-scale deployment. The team of microbiologists behind the study are working closely to make this solution more sustainable and scalable.
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