The Fraunhofer Institute for Technology (ILT) has developed an innovative technology that uses lasers to create special filters for wastewater treatment plants. According to scientists, they are able to effectively capture microplastics.

Taking up the Institute’s idea, LaserJob GmbH created a prototype filter with 59 million small holes, each about 10 micrometers in diameter. For the first test of the invention, a metal foil was inserted into a special cyclone filter, through which fine plastic from a 3D printer mixed with water was passed. Currently, a number of tests are being carried out in real conditions at wastewater treatment plants.

“Basically, our goal was to drill as many small holes as possible in the steel foil in the shortest possible time,” says Andrea Lanfermann, Project Manager at Fraunhofer ILT.

A study commissioned by WWF at Newcastle University in Australia says that on average, people consume about 21 grams of microplastics per month – that’s over 250 grams per year, or 5 grams of plastic per week. Scientists have also found microplastics in human blood. The global transition of wastewater treatment plants to laser-drilled filters is likely to change this situation for the better.