Details
- Mission objective
- Objective 2a - Prevent and eliminate pollution - litter and microplastics
- Lighthouse
- Mediterranean Sea basin
- Sector
- Water management
- Topic(s)
- Microplastics
- Extraction
- Clean ocean
- Type of action
- Upscaling, deployment and replication of solutions
- Solution type
- Technological solutions
- Solution owner
- Wasser 3.0 gGmbH
- Country
- Germany
Description
Wasser 3.0 PE-X® effectively removes microplastics and micropollutants from water using the Clump & Skim principle, combining physical agglomeration with water-induced chemical fixation.
The process employs hybrid silica gels composed of non-toxic organosilanes added to contaminated water. When stirred, these materials bind with microplastics forming popcorn-shaped agglomerates within minutes. These clusters float to the surface and are removed using simple skimming—eliminating conventional filters.
Operation is straightforward: water treatment in a tank with vortex creation, hybrid silica gel addition, and agglomerate separation. This filter-free approach reduces maintenance and complexity.
Key Performance Results:
- 95% microplastic removal efficiency with 90% water and chemical reuse
- 20% lower capital costs and up to 75% lower operational costs than conventional systems
- 100% waste material reuse potential with 50% energy reduction
Material Outputs:
The technology produces clean treated water suitable for reuse, recovered process chemicals at desired specifications, reusable agglomerates for construction applications, and COD-reduced effluents meeting discharge standards. All materials are non-toxic with no harmful by-products, making it suitable for integration into existing infrastructure as standalone or add-on systems.
