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A shellfish-inspired solution could reduce textile dye pollution

Researchers at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi have developed a new nanomaterial that can effectively clean up dyes and pollutants from wastewater. The mechanism was inspired by the systems of various shellfish, in particular, mussels.

The textile industry uses 1.3 trillion gallons of water to dye garments annually. That’s enough water to fill two million Olympic-sized swimming pools. Yes, you read that right – two million.

Without ignoring that this is already a very water-intensive industry, a secondary problem arises when the vast majority of this water is left untreated before it is disposed of.

Most of it ends up being dumped into nearby rivers and streams, polluting local waterways with harmful dyes and chemicals.

The highest concentrations of textile-derived water pollution can be found in China and Bangladesh, which are home to the world’s biggest fabric manufacturing centres. That said, this should be a global concern as all of our planet’s water cycles are inextricably linked.

With the fashion industry being responsible for a massive 20 percent of global water pollution, researchers at Khalifa University set out to find a feasible solution to clean it up. They turned to shellfish, mussels in particular, for inspiration.


What can we learn from mussels?

Often overlooked unless served up with a buttery white or red wine sauce, mussels complete an impressive and vital job while rooted to the edge of rocky coastlines.

They suck in ocean water, which is sent through an inhalant aperture to filter bacteria, algae, gravel, sand, or silt. The water then runs across the mussel’s gills before a secondary exhalant aperture expels the filtered water, as well as any undigestible material back out into its habitat.

This process works as a natural cleansing system for the mussel’s habitat.

Ironically though, it’s not this process that inspired the researchers. Instead, the team looked at the ‘beards’ of mussels – the strong and sticky threads that allow them to latch securely onto rocks, reefs, and even shipwrecks.

The proteins in these threads are highly adhesive, so the scientists wanted to see if they could create a synthetic formula that was capable of attracting and holding onto chemicals in the water in the same way.


The results

What they created is a man-made solvent consisting of tiny sand-like grains. It is a nanomaterial, not visible to the naked eye, but it can expertly collect pollutants on its surface and within its pores.

The scientists first tested their mussel-inspired solvent on a red-orange dye called Alizarin Red S. Their published report shows that it is effective at cleaning up the dye without leaking any harmful chemicals into the surrounding water.

This is great news, as it wouldn’t make sense to use a solvent if it was leaking other toxic chemicals in the water – which most solvents do.

Making the solvent eco-friendly was identified as a huge challenge, one that they were able to overcome. The scientists say the nanomaterial could even be adapted to remove viruses from hospital wastewater, improve desalination processes, and more.

It will be interesting to see how effective this technology is when put to use on a wider scale and how else it can be applied to make the planet a cleaner place.

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