Designing better water filters: Fabric-like filters that remove microscopic plastics and lead from drinking water

While water filters currently on the market can remove some contaminants, they are not designed to capture microplastics. In fact, some water filters can even introduce tiny plastic particles into your drinking water during the filtration process. Even worse, these microplastics can act as carriers for harmful chemicals that can cause inflammation, increase the risk of cancer, and lead to other health problems.

University of Missouri researcher Maryam Salehi and her colleagues are devising a new way to protect the public by using fabric-like filters to trap these tiny invaders, and the team outlined their findings in a cover story in the journal Applied Polymer Science.

“The idea is to design a filter that can be attached to a faucet and simultaneously remove microplastics and lead from tap water,” said Salehi, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Missouri College of Engineering. “We envision an inexpensive, point-of-use filter that can be attached to any faucet.”

The filter membrane is made from polyvinyl alcohol fibers, a polymer currently used in biomedical applications. The team chose this material because it is low-cost, biocompatible and non-toxic to humans, animals and plants.

And it’s proven effective: In laboratory tests, the membrane was able to remove nearly 100% of the larger microplastics and nearly 80% of the smallest microplastics, while also removing about 70% of lead contamination.

“We still need to test how well the filter can withstand other conditions, such as the use of disinfectants in the water, but our goal is to create something that can be commercialized and used to easily purify tap water,” Salehi said.