geekyroots

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by sare2121

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"The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.

To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.

Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.

Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.

A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.

The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.

Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).

The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”

She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’"

-via Good News Network, May 10, 2025

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The Death of Wei Wuxian.

(Thank you to everyone who participated in the poll!)

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day 4: love language/ public scandal

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messy eater uzi :p

inspired by a comic from @/shencomix

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"𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓 - 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓"

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"thanguine hunger"

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Moon lady 🌙

Chibi commission for Thran!

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Doing some outfit designs <3

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🌿 Something is Lurking in the Water 🌿

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Hydrangea　

Hinamaturi

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comm for @aradiamegido

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Elysylle 💜 Simple drawing commission for @queenmeach

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my take on Ireena!

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Casimir redesign for @pissyeti // Thank you so much again //