In Germany, about 4 kg of microplastics are released into the environment per capita and year, that is a total of approx. 330,000 t/a. These particles derive from abrasion of vehicle tires, road surfaces, textile fibers, cosmetic articles, packing, etc..

Microplastics from municipal and industrial effluents, decomposed plastic particles, and washed-out microparticles from air and soil enter the sanitation system and wastewater cycle. The majority of the particles can be filtered out by state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plants. Nevertheless, a significant share is released via the purified wastewater into the environment. The filtered plastic particles and adhering toxins are bound in the sewage sludge, which gets recycled thermally by 65 %. The rest, however, is led directly back into the environment, as it is used as fertilizer in agriculture or landscaping.

On a global scale, microplastics are found in all areas of the environment (air, soil, natural food sources like honey, drinking water, …) and can be detected worldwide, from Mariana Trench to Antarctica.

Due to its chemical properties, microplastics bind floating pollutants and those that are stored in the sediments. These include pollutants that have long been banned or restricted in use due to their toxicity and longevity, for example polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) or dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). The small particles act like a magnet on such substances: the longer they are in the water of rivers, lakes or oceans, the more chemicals they bind to themselves.

These tiny plastic fragments enter our food chain in several ways, for example, by eating fish. On average, every person ingests about 100 plastic particles per day. In terms of quantity, this corresponds to the size of a credit card per week. Small particles can be absorbed in the lungs or intestines, possibly resulting in hormone disorders, infertility, allergies, and cancer. Bound toxins and pathogens can not only find their way into the human body, but also spread infinitely on a geographical scale by currents, migrating animals and air streams.*

*Source: Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (HAW), Hamburg

Conventional filtration methods for the production of clear water such as micro-, nano-, and ultrafiltration have technical and economical disadvantages. The need for filters results in lower throughputs, a comparatively high energy requirement, and a higher maintenance expenditure. Filters must be cleaned and flushed as they tend to clog due to biofouling and scaling. The factors mentioned generate high costs, which is a considerable disadvantage compared to the ECOFARIO technology.