CGG has completed a project to characterize micropollutants and contaminants, including microplastics and synthetic fibres, captured by domestic and industrial filters.
CGG has completed a project to characterize micropollutants and contaminants, including microplastics and synthetic fibres, captured by domestic and industrial filters.
Working with partners Matter, Brunel University London and Swansea University, the project has applied an integrated micropollution analysis workflow established by CGG at its geoscience laboratories in North Wales and the experimental techniques centre (ETC) at Brunel University London.
Samples included residue caught by Matter’s filtration technology from clothes washing machines and multi-use industrial sites. A range of techniques, including CGG’s rapid mass screening method for micropollutant detection and ETC’s micro-FTIR and thermal analyses, were applied. The domestic appliance samples contained a mixture of polyester, rayon, nylon and cotton/synthetic fibre blends together with embedded fragments of acrylic, paints or resins. Industrial site samples were found to be heavily polluted, containing tyre particulates, paints, polypropylene and polyester with high levels of zinc, copper, chromium and lead.
The common goal of this partnership is to prevent micropollutants from entering the environment, harming organisms and entering the food chain. The analysis workflow proved to be highly effective at identifying and characterizing materials within complex mixed samples, said CGG. This approach can be scaled to quantify micropollutants and contaminants in large volumes and contribute to the UK government’s 25-year environmental plan to achieve zero avoidable plastic waste by 2042, and zero avoidable waste by 2050, it added.
Adam Root, founder and CEO, Matter, said: ‘The micropollutant analysis of the material captured in our state-of-the-art filtration technology provides a clear picture of the range and scale of contaminants that are washed into our drainage systems every day from domestic and commercial activities. These microparticles end up polluting our waterways and natural environment, causing health risks for us too. This excellent work by CGG, Brunel University London and Swansea University provides insightful scientific analysis that will support Matter on its mission to not only stop microplastic pollution but help find solutions for that material to be fed back into manufacturing and support a circular economy.’
