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Optimizing Microplastic Removal with Plant Extracts

CSEF · 2026 Earth & Environmental Sciences (Junior Division)

Elena Pang

Overview

Microplastic pollution, an immense environmental issue that has affected our world for decades, has impacted humans, organisms, and even whole ecosystems. One way to address this problem is by using plant-based extracts to make microplastics easier to remove from water systems. Plant extracts contain natural polysaccharides that cause flocculation, a process which binds suspended particles together and causes them to settle to the bottom of a solution. This project tests whether various plant-based extracts can successfully remove microplastics from several water types of different levels of acidity and alkalinity. In this project, okra, fenugreek, tamarind, and moringa plant extracts were used due to their high polysaccharide content. Epoxy resin was dissolved in 99% isopropyl alcohol to create a suspended particle solution. The salinity and pH of several batches of water were altered with aquarium salt, baking soda and 0.1M HCl, then were then mixed with the dissolved resin particles to mimic a microplastic environment. The transmittance of each water solution was measured using a spectrophotometer over a period of two weeks. The data showed that the solutions were quite opaque at first, but showed significant improvement over time. The best removal rates turned out to be moringa and tamarind in alkaline freshwater, with a transmittance of 93.8 and 93.4. Moringa showed steady consistency throughout all water types and showed the highest transmittance. Okra had promising results but were not as effective as some of the other plant extracts.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2026 Earth & Environmental Sciences (Junior Division) · Entry J-08-39

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