More than 14 million tons of microplastics have accumulated on the world’s ocean floor according to research estimates. Between 200,000 and 500,000 tons of microplastics from textiles enter the global marine environment each year. Globally, 16-35% of microplastics are from synthetic textiles.
Now nonprofit science research organization The Shaw Institute reports that it has tested the external microplastic filter CLEANR that can capture microplastics as small as 50-microns and found it to be over 90% efficient. Some research shows the average size of microplastics being released through laundry as being about .3 mm. Fifty microns is .05 mm. CLEANR for Washing Machines will be available for purchase in the U.S. later this year.
“The Shaw Institute is a global authority on plastic pollution and marine health, and we’re grateful for their review of our technology,” said David Dillman, CLEANR’s Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. “These test results confirm the significance of our filtration technology and its potential to help consumers fight microplastic pollution. This third-party assessment is a key milestone for our official product release in the US later this year.”
The company said its technology, VORTX, was inspired by manta rays and basking sharks whose unique gill structures allow them to glide through the water and feed passively without clogging their gills. Instead of forcing particles against a filtering surface like conventional filters, VORTX said it creates vortices which suspend and isolate microplastic particles from washing machine wastewater and channel them into the CLEANR Pod, a microplastic capture unit, for proper disposal of the microplastics.
The Shaw Institute tested the effectiveness of CLEANR for Washing Machines by running a mix of tap water and plastic flock fibers (10 microns in diameter and 300 microns in length) through the filter at various concentration levels to simulate real world laundry conditions. The test was repeated three times in January and February and resulted in 90%, 97%, and 98% microplastic fiber removal rates.
“We couldn’t be more proud to have worked with CLEANR as part of our new program to validate innovative technology designed to greatly reduce plastic pollution,” said Dr. Charlie Rolsky, Executive Director of the Shaw Institute. “Microplastics are a major threat to human and environmental health. Therefore, finding solutions to reduce pathways of exposure to them is critical.”
