Experimental study on enhanced magnetic removal of microplastics in water using modified maifanite

Magnetic separation technology has been extensively employed in pollutant removal due to its simplicity, efficiency, environmental compatibility, and cost-effectiveness. This study aims to enhance the effectiveness of magnetic separation for removing microplastics from water. The study examined the impact of solution pH, magnetic carrier dosage, microplastic concentration, and reaction time on the efficiency of polystyrene removal in water using pore remodeling and hydrophobic Maifanite. The modified Maifanite possesses layered streaks, and abundant pores, the specific surface area increased from 3.26 to 22.17 m2/g, increased adsorption sites and a large number of hydrophobic groups. The contact angle increased from 17.5 degrees to 30.5 degrees. The removal efficiency ultimately achieves 100 % when the concentration ratio with microplastics is set at 50 %. It remained consistently at 84.27 % even after undergoing 25 cycles. The analysis demonstrated that chemical adsorption is dominated in the removal process while physical adsorption acted as an auxiliary mechanism. The magnetic carrier can be firmly bound to the surface of polystyrene mainly through electrostatic force and it-it bond stacking. Hydrophobic modification significantly improved the mobility of the magnetic carrier in water, expanded its dispersion area by four times, reduced agglomeration phenomena, and increased collision probability with microplastics for capture and adsorption purposes. The study offers novel insights into the effective removal of microplastics from aquatic environments through the utilization of magnetic separation technology.