Audi helped make a filter to capture microplastics from tyre wear from waste water

In the Danish capital Copenhagen, practical tests of the URBANFILTER filter have started. It is designed to capture microplastics, such as tyre abrasion, which are washed from the street into the city's sewage system. The filter was developed by the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) with the support of the Audi Environmental Foundation.

Here's What We Know

Five grams of microplastics per week - that's how much is ingested through food, water and air, according to a 2019 study by the University of Newcastle. These small particles, up to five millimetres in size, end up in the environment through cosmetics, products and even washing clothes. URBANFILTER is designed to reduce the amount of microplastics in this endless cycle.

The system consists of nine modules that can be combined depending on the need. It effectively filters plastic before it enters the aquifers. The first tests were conducted in Berlin and at the ADAC test site. The results were encouraging: the filters trapped up to 97 per cent of the particulate matter.

The pilot run in Copenhagen covers the Frederiksberg district, where BAIONYX, a company specialising in purification technology, has begun installing the modular filters. The implementation will take place in several phases under the supervision of TU Berlin.

According to Rüdiger Recknagel, director of the Audi Environmental Foundation, the project in Denmark is just the beginning. The foundation intends to attract even more partners and launch other filter models in the future.

Source: Audi