My partner is working on a sub-topic, removing microplastics from laundry discharge water, and it is a huge and still undefined challenge. There is no magic pill.
Even core definitions such as "what are microplastics" are under review and development. And then there's nanoplastics.
For those wanting an introduction to the topic, don't go with media, start reviewing papers. The top cited papers clearly outline how all-encompassing and complex the challenge is.
Much better way of addressing a lot of the microplastics problem IMHO. Regulate it out of common frivolous sources like e.g. "exfoliating microspheres" and then start requiring washing machine OEMs to put replaceable filters on the discharge.
It's really inspiring to see what real engineering is. Makes me feel like a sell-out massaging Skinner boxes.
In the laundry problem they are dealing with both the extreme challenge of physical objects (connecting the right pump to the right controller, battling liquid pressure loss, unreliable reference washing machine performance and water quality ), abstract concepts ("what shall be identified as microplastics?" "is the reference wash cycle in any way relevant to how plastic clothing sheds when worn by humans?" "how shall the conflicting measurement methods from literature be addressed / unified?") and project constraints. To say nothing about filter clogging.
And it's a great feeling to know that your work is fundamentally relevant, i see that even when they hit their lows.
Really making me re-consider my career path.
Already done in the UK and US.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/skin/the-best-face-and-bo...
See also https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/reel.12269 https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/mic...
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2020/03/battle-on-t...
I would think products for industrial, commercial, and residential micro plastics removal would be more useful than for a specific problem, but also that waste treatment plants and water runoff must scrub their outputs of environmental contaminants before discharging them into waterways.