MERMAIDS - Mitigation of microplastics impact caused by textile washing processes (DIT.AD002.068)

Thematic area

Engineering, ICT and technologies for energy and transportation

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institute of industrial technologies and automation (STIIMA)

Project manager

RAFFAELLA MOSSOTTI
Phone number: 0158493043
Email: r.mossotti@bi.ismac.cnr.it

Abstract

European oceans are contaminated by marine litter, mainly by plastics, thatunder environmental conditions degrade to the so-called microplastics. Such particles areparticularly worrying because wastewater treatment plantsare not able to remove them and they are deposited in waterways and sewage sludge.Microplastics are responsible for the concentration of Persistent Organic Pollutants via partitioning and they can be ingested by marine biota entering in the food web . Recent studies[Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (21), 9175]demonstrated that the major source of microplastic particles in marine environment is most likely ascribable to washing machine wastewater, since the fibres found in synthetic textiles are similar to the mixture of microplastics found in the wastewater of sewage treatment plants and on beaches at disposal sites. MERMAIDS project has been developed as replay to such problem, with the main objective of contributing to the mitigation of the impact caused by micro and/or nanoplastic particles resulting from laundry wastewater on European seas' ecosystems, by demonstrating and implementing innovative technologies and additives.

Goals

The main objective of the MERMAIDS project is to contribute to the mitigation of the impact caused by micro and/or nanoplastic particles resulting from laundry wastewater in European seas ecosystems, by demonstrating and implementing innovative technologies and additives for laundry processes and textile finishing treatments. For this purpose, the project is divided in different actions, each of them containing specific tasks. From the beginning of the project, the activities have focused mainly on the Preparatory, Dissemination and Management actions.The main objectives of the project are:
- to estimate the laundry effluent microplastics release.
- to set up a standardized protocol of analysis based on Scanning Electron Microscopy to evaluate microplastics release by washing processes.
- to identify of the factors involved in the microplastics release
- to evaluate the amount of micro/nano fibers in effluents of domestic washes of different types of synthetic textiles.
- to use textile auxiliaries and innovative finishing treatments that could reduce the microfibers breakage.
- to study new additives for detergent which may contribute to the reduction of microfiber release.

Start date of activity

01/07/2014

Keywords

microplastics, synthetic fibers, washing

Last update: 15/10/2024