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QuantumChemist
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17 Sep 2024, 7:47 am

Jakki wrote:
we must cut off our noses to spite our microplastics ...? :roll: ....need more solutions


(Lurch voice) “Youuu ranggg?”

There are bacteria that have evolved to break down some plastics as part of their diet. Their enzymes might provide the answer to how to do this in situ if we can make the enzymes act in a way not to interfere with other processes. We could literally dissolve the microplastics internally before they became a problem health-wise. How viable is this concept? I do not know, as I am not a biochemist.

If it could be done, it would be another step.towards synthetic evolution.



naturalplastic
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17 Sep 2024, 8:57 am

You mean...genetically modify humans so we can digest plastic?



QuantumChemist
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17 Sep 2024, 7:06 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
You mean...genetically modify humans so we can digest plastic?


That is one way to look at it. Just think how much you could save on high food costs if you could eat the packaging also.



Jakki
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18 Sep 2024, 1:36 am

Love enzme idea...! !


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cyberdad
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18 Sep 2024, 2:34 am

Can you take out cancer insurance?



naturalplastic
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18 Sep 2024, 8:57 am

So...this gal is just... a little ahead of her time!


https://youtu.be/DKSGHvDpE1U



Double Retired
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18 Sep 2024, 9:44 am

cyberdad wrote:
Can you take out cancer insurance?
Health insurance?


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QuantumChemist
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19 Sep 2024, 7:53 am

naturalplastic wrote:
So...this gal is just... a little ahead of her time.


Yes, she needs to wait until flavoring is added to the plastic. I can see a new chemical market developing here: plastic that tastes like candy. The enzymes can be incorporated into the material if coated with something that needs a biological to remove.



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19 Sep 2024, 4:47 pm

Double Retired wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
Can you take out cancer insurance?
Health insurance?

Oh yeah!



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19 Sep 2024, 8:33 pm

cyberdad wrote:
Double Retired wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
Can you take out cancer insurance?
Health insurance?

Oh yeah!
Of course, there's no warranty the medical treatment will work.

But, at least, it probably won't be fun.


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19 Sep 2024, 9:12 pm

Double Retired wrote:
But, at least, it probably won't be fun.


then the life insurance will come in handy.



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20 Sep 2024, 2:41 pm

Have to get life insurance earlier than 60 yrs old , cause they will kill you with the premiums ! for the cost of it as you. age. just a FYI


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28 Oct 2024, 7:42 pm

"Researchers discover revolutionary method to rid farm soils of microplastics — here's how it could transform food supply"

Quote:
A research team has discovered an exciting use for biochar — commonly a processed farm waste — that could dramatically lower the amount of microplastics from farms ending up in our oceans, food, and drinking water.

Climate publication Anthropocene detailed the groundbreaking study, conducted by University of Mississippi scientists and colleagues, looking at biochar's ability to siphon out plastics. Modern biochar production generally repurposes farm waste and other biomass by superheating it in an environment with limited oxygen. Other studies have revealed that biochar is capable of enriching farm soils and capturing carbon pollution. For this study, the research team wanted to see if it could separate microplastics from farm soil.

The results were extremely encouraging. Biochar removed a robust 92.6% of plastic particles from study samples, demonstrating an ability to filter the tiny pollutants. That's huge news as the industrial agriculture sector grapples with an inundation of plastic that has spawned the nickname "plasticulture," as Anthropocene noted.

Within the study, the widespread quantity of microplastics in the farm's soil was a key finding before the researchers tested biochar's ability to filter it out.

Plastic is found everywhere in farming. It's in mulches and fertilizers, irrigation pipes, crop storage, and anti-weed solutions. The problem? That plastic doesn't stay put, especially when there is heavy rain.

It ends up getting shed into smaller and smaller particles that leak into local waterways, posing a danger to animals and fish. From there, it finds its way into the oceans and our drinking water. There's even evidence some of the particles are ending up in our food through crops.


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QuantumChemist
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28 Oct 2024, 10:57 pm

Double Retired wrote:
"Researchers discover revolutionary method to rid farm soils of microplastics — here's how it could transform food supply"
Quote:
A research team has discovered an exciting use for biochar — commonly a processed farm waste — that could dramatically lower the amount of microplastics from farms ending up in our oceans, food, and drinking water.

Climate publication Anthropocene detailed the groundbreaking study, conducted by University of Mississippi scientists and colleagues, looking at biochar's ability to siphon out plastics. Modern biochar production generally repurposes farm waste and other biomass by superheating it in an environment with limited oxygen. Other studies have revealed that biochar is capable of enriching farm soils and capturing carbon pollution. For this study, the research team wanted to see if it could separate microplastics from farm soil.

The results were extremely encouraging. Biochar removed a robust 92.6% of plastic particles from study samples, demonstrating an ability to filter the tiny pollutants. That's huge news as the industrial agriculture sector grapples with an inundation of plastic that has spawned the nickname "plasticulture," as Anthropocene noted.

Within the study, the widespread quantity of microplastics in the farm's soil was a key finding before the researchers tested biochar's ability to filter it out.

Plastic is found everywhere in farming. It's in mulches and fertilizers, irrigation pipes, crop storage, and anti-weed solutions. The problem? That plastic doesn't stay put, especially when there is heavy rain.

It ends up getting shed into smaller and smaller particles that leak into local waterways, posing a danger to animals and fish. From there, it finds its way into the oceans and our drinking water. There's even evidence some of the particles are ending up in our food through crops.


One of my doctoral committee members did research with biochar. He was very interested in corn stalk roots that had been thermally converted and used for filtering out pollutants from water supplies. The test samples had undergone a chemical absorption process (that he invented) prior to the conversion to aid in cheating out certain pollutants. He picked the roots because most of them are just tilled back into the ground after harvest season. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us. He would have loved hearing about this.