Partners

Abstract:
As microplastics in water continue to pose a growing environmental challenge, it becomes more important to develop cost-effective and efficient methods for their capture. While separation techniques such as membranes and fibrous filters are highly effective, the majority of them are typically produced using fossil-based resources, contributing to plastic waste. The goal of this research is to develop an effective filter for microplastics filtration utilising exclusively sustainable materials while addressing known limitations of cellulose acetate electrospinning. Specifically, the feasibility and effects of electrospinning cellulose acetate non-wovens from an ethyl lactate-acetone solvent system were investigated. Both the polymeric solutions and the resulting materials were thoroughly characterised using SEM, porosimetry, tensile testing, rheometry, contact angles and conductometry. The obtained non-woven materials were tested as filters for PVC microplastic removal in a dead-end filtration setup. Different morphologies and parameters were observed with the changes in composition. Nonetheless, most of the filters showed great potential in the filtration of commercially available microplastics, effectively removing particles as small as 0.2 µm with over 90% efficiency overall. While the process requires further optimisation, solvent systems based on ethyl lactate emerges as a promising green alternative to acetone in electrospinning, offering a more sustainable approach to microplastic filtration.

Keywords:
electrospinning, ethyl lactate, cellulose acetate nonwoven, microplastics removal, microfiltration