Participant Detail

Research Title

Upcycling Textile Waste and Crustacean Byproducts for Microplastic Removal in the River Systems

Research Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) originate from land and urban streams before entering rivers and oceans, posing risks to ecosystems and human health. In South Korea, the problem is intensified by 20,000–30,000 tons of cotton clothing waste and 220,000 tons of crustacean shells generated annually. To address this, MPs-Capture was developed as a scalable filtration system that upcycles these wastes to remove MPs from urban streams and fits common concrete stream structures. MP contamination in the Han River and major tributaries was analyzed using Nile red dye staining. MP particles were most abundant in Anyang and Banpo Streams (2.1 × 10⁷ particles/mL), whereas MP aggregates and plastic fibers were most prevalent in the Han River (2.7 × 10⁶ and 1.3 × 10⁶ particles/mL, respectively), indicating downstream aggregation of MPs. In laboratory tests using fluorescent MP–contaminated water, crab shell and clam shell powders demonstrated strong adsorption capacity. The MPs-Capture device—constructed by filling a pouch made from cotton clothing waste with these powders—effectively removed MPs in an artificial stream system. Overall, MPs-Capture offers an eco-friendly solution that simultaneously mitigates microplastic pollution and solid waste accumulation while preventing MPs from reaching marine environments.