AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Clean Water & Sanitation
KEYWORDS
microplastic, water filtration, Biofilter
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
DESIGNED BY
S. Navarednam, K.J. Chow & F. W.K. Siung
WEBSITE
https://www.jamesdysonaward.org/2020/project/oflow/
OFlow
Bacteria catching unfiltered microplastic in water treatment plants
OFlow removes smaller-sized microplastics in water treatment plants by incorporating biofilter and bioreactor technologies. It integrates with current treatment stages to mitigate wastewater microplastic pollution before being discharged into the environment.
Despite efforts to reduce microplastic pollution, 13 million tonnes of microplastic leak into the ocean every year; mainly originating from landmasses. Current water treatment methods are not adapted to completely filter out microplastics from domestic wastewater.
There is no other product similar to OFlow. OFlow embraces a semi-autonomous design that requires very little manpower to operate. The materials used are biodegradable and aimed towards long term use. The scaffolds (microplastic filters) can be easily removed, cleaned and reused for many times. Since biofilms can easily grow