Membrane-free microplastic removal based on a multiplexed spiral inertial microfluidic system

The rapid increase in plastic consumption has accelerated microplastic pollution, raising concerns about potential ecological and health risks. Despite the development and application of various microplastic removal technologies, they exhibit inherent limitations, such as membrane fouling/clogging and low removal efficiency. In this study, we introduce a high-throughput membrane-free microplastic removal system utilizing a plastic spiral inertial microfluidic device. The continuous and clogging-free operational capabilities of spiral inertial microfluidics, coupled with a robust scaling-up of a mass-producible plastic device, allow us to overcome the limitations of conventional microplastic removal methods while meeting the throughput requirements for practical water treatment applications. Utilizing a multiplexed plastic spiral unit, we successfully demonstrated 10-liter-scale high-throughput microplastic removal with a high microparticle removal efficiency (up to ∼99%, depending on particle size) at a harvesting rate of purified water of ∼125 mL/min (not limited and can be further increased by utilizing multiple units in parallel) without any fouling/clogging issue.