About

35% of the total annual emissions of micro-/nano-plastics (MNPs) into the environment comes from the washing of synthetic textiles. This, as well as the fact that contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs) from garments can be absorbed by MNPs, makes the discharge of MNPs from industrial laundry wastewater an environmental problem. It can lead to aquatic pollution through inadequately treated wastewater and terrestrial contamination due to the use of wastewater sludge in agriculture.

It results in chronic exposure as MNPs work their way up through the food chain, ending up in human food products. As society moves toward a circular economy, by increasing the use of multiuse garments, there is an urgent need to remove the MNPs from industrial laundry wastewater before discharge into the sewage. However, the current industrial laundries are not capable of removing MNPs. An estimated 90% of industrial laundry wastewater discharges sewage without adequate treatment, raising risks for the natural environment and human health.

Zero-harmful Discharge

SusBrane aims to deliver a solution to this problem by capturing MNPs in a membrane filtration system followed by degradation of nano-plastics (NPs) and CECs in a catalytic reactor. The implementation will enable the industrial laundries to achieve zero-harmful discharge, reduce consumption of freshwater by 90% and energy by 20%, enabling significant cost reduction, circular economy solutions and CO2 reductions. The project spans the entire value chain from proof-of-concept development to implementation and commercialization.