A tiny robot-fish that is programmed to remove microplastics from seas and oceans by swimming around and absorbing them on its soft, flexible, self-healing body was designed by scientists.
Microplastics are the billions of tiny plastic particles which fragment from the bigger plastic things used every day. They are one of the biggest environmental problems of the 21st century because they are hard to get rid of, making their way into drinking water, produce, and food, harming the environment and animal and human health.
One of the lead authors on the study said that it was important to develop a robot to collect and sample microplastic pollutants from the aquatic environment. Her invention is described in a paper. This is the first example of softrobots that we know of.
There is an innovative solution to track down these pollutants when it comes to water contamination: designing a tiny self-propelledrobo-fish that can swim around, latched on to free-floating microplastics, and fix itself if it gets cut or damaged while on its expedition.
The robo-fish is 13mm long and has a light laser system in its tail that allows it to swim and flap its wings at almost 30mm a second.
Mother-of-pearl, also known as nacre, is a material inspired by elements that thrive in the sea. The team was able to create a material similar to nacre by using different sheets of molecule.
According to the study, they were able to pull up to 5 kilogrammes. The organic dyes, antibiotics, and heavy metals in the microplastics have strong chemical bonds and interact with the fish's materials. The fish can collect and remove microplastics from the water by clinging on to its surface. The researchers can analyse the composition and toxicity of the microplastics after collecting them from the water.
Wang said that the newly created material seems to have regeneration abilities. The robot fish can heal itself to 89% of its ability if it experiences some damage or cutting, which could happen often if it goes hunting for pollutants.
This is just a proof of concept and more research is needed to understand how this could be used in the real world. The soft robot only works on water surfaces, so Wang's team will soon work on a more complex robot that can go deeper under the water. This design could be used for other projects. I think that nanotechnology holds great promise for trace adsorption, collection, and detection of pollutants.
The director of the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Research Center at Rutgers University was not involved in the study.
The lab is trying to get rid of microplastics, but instead of cleaning them up, they are substituting them. In the journal Nature Food, he announced the invention of a spray coating made from plants that can be used to replace plastic food wraps. Their case study showed that this spray can protect against transportation damage, just as well as it protects against pathogens.
The motto for the last 40 to 50 years for the chemical industry is "let's make chemicals, let's make materials, put them out there and then clean the mess." It isn't a sustainable model. Is it possible to make safer design materials? Is it possible to derive materials from food waste as part of the circular economy?
As research into materials gets better so will the multi-pronged approach of substituting plastic in our daily lives and filters out its micro plastic from the environment.
There is a huge difference between an invention and an innovation. vention is something that has yet to be considered. Yes, right? innovation will change people's lives because it can be scaled and commercialised.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
