A gel against microplastics in water

It can already be found everywhere on our planet. In the Antarctic as well as on the highest peaks, in our rivers and lakes and also in the human body. Microplastics. The self-made plague of our time. Karlsruhe chemist Katrin Schuhen has developed a process that can be used to remove the tiny particles from water. The tiny plastic particles are clumped together using a gel and then skimmed off. The resulting "waste" is reused and the purified water is also returned to the cycle.

Initial situation:

• Microplastics can already be found everywhere.
• The actual extent of microplastics in our environment is currently unknown.
• To date, there are no legal limits.
• There is no standardized, comprehensive detection method for microplastics

Non-profit company Water 3.0

In 2020, the chemist Katrin Schuhen founded the non-profit company Wasser 3.0, which, by combining high-tech materials and low-tech processes with a systemic perspective, shows new ways of protecting the environment and health in (waste) water purification.

The focus is on flexible, cost- and energy-efficient solutions for the removal of microplastics and micropollutants from water.

The portfolio also includes standardized microplastics analysis, circular economy process design, the Water 3.0 app, the Global Map of Microplastics and the WASoMI digital experience space.

In 2022, the company won the Next Economy Award 2022 of the German Sustainability Award.

How the process works

"First, we determine the contamination of the water with microplastics and look for the hotspots, i.e. the places of highest contamination. Fluorescent markers that make microplastic particles glow help us do this. Two known hotspots are industrial and municipal wastewater. This is where a removal technology like the one we have developed makes sense. The key lies in its simplicity."

The principle of "lumping and skimming"

This is used to remove harmful microplastics: In a simple process, the Water 3.0 team adds harmless hybrid silica gels to the contaminated water. After stirring, the hybrid silica gels clump together with the microplastics and micropollutants and form agglomerates that resemble popcorn. These float on top of the water and are separated with a skimmer and without a filter. Coarse-pored filters can also be used for large agglomerates.

Both "waste" and purified water are returned to the cycle

The "waste" produced in the removal process is used as a resource for new products. The purified water is also reused as process water or returned to the water cycle as pollutant-free wastewater.

"In addition to research and development work, education and communication is one of my hobbyhorses. I try to bridge the gap and get people, especially children and young people, interested in the topic of water and in participating in our projects," explains the chemist in an interview with ZDFheute.

"Rebel of the Water" will be published this October

In October, Schuhen's first book will be published, which deals with the issues surrounding our water and how we can protect it and our future.

In "Rebel of Water", she combines the usual objectivity of research with many exciting aspects of our most precious resource that are suitable for everyday life. The book relentlessly describes the tense water situation on our planet and at the same time aims to point out solutions and provide encouragement. The foreword is written by world-famous sailor Boris Herrmann from Team Malizia.