18yearold

Little by little, microplastics are surrounding us as they are present in the drinking waterin the meal and even inside our body. This poses a great environmental and public health challenge, and until now the solutions that were proposed used to be quite expensive with special filters to be able to trap these particlesbut a teenager has changed this idea. A new filter. It was Mia Heller, an 18 year old studentwhich has managed to develop a prototype water filter that has a low cost and has managed to eliminate all microplastics. The most characteristic thing is that the ‘core’ of this invention is not a microscopic network, but a material known as ferrofluid. How it works. The truth is that we are talking about a prodigy of applied physics and chemistry, since the ferrofluidwhen introduced into a volume of contaminated water, causes all the microplastics present to adhere to the material naturally. Subsequently, once the plastic is ‘impregnated’ with this magnetic liquid, the water passes through a magnetic separation system. Here the only thing we must have are powerful magnets that attract the ferrofluid, dragging the microplastics with it, and letting the clean water pass through so that it continues its course. The results. Here we are talking about a simple small-scale prototype, but the truth is that metrics have shown that the invention achieves a rate of 95.52% microplastic removal. But the innovation stops there, since the system is capable of recovering and recycling approximately 87% of the ferrofluid used, which greatly reduces operating costs and makes the system sustainable. Your progress. The development of this filter has not remained a simple school experiment. In this case, Mia Heller presented her creation at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2025, which is one of the pre-university scientific competitions most prestigious in the worldwhere he competed against some 1,700 students from 62 countries and 49 North American states. The jury and the scientific community have praised the young woman’s approach, since, by avoiding the use of traditional membrane filters, Heller’s prototype overcomes the problem of clogging due to the accumulation of waste, guaranteeing a constant water flow and requiring minimal maintenance. A revolution. The most promising thing about this development is its economic viability. Being a low-cost filter and made from accessible materials, it has enormous potential to be deployed in vulnerable communities or developing areas with considerable difficulty in accessing advanced water purification systems. The next step here is to scale the technology to integrate into municipal water treatment plant systems or even home filter systems. What is clear is that science knows no age, and anyone with a good idea can make a great revolution. Images | Naja Bertolt Jensen In Xataka | Someone has declared war on microplastics: their plan is to “wash” the semen and rejuvenate from the testicles