Problem
Industrial wastewater treatment relies on Activated Carbon (AC) powder to remove toxic organic pollutants like textile dyes. However, separating spent AC powder from treated water is a major mechanical bottleneck, requiring decanter centrifuges that consume approximately 1.8 kWh/m³. Furthermore, industrial AC is heavily reliant on fossil fuels (coal), emitting up to 18.28 kg CO₂e/kg during production. Facilities are forced to accept massive energy penalties just to separate their filtration materials from the water.
Solution
We manufacture a macroscopic filter composite using two waste streams. We extract cellulose fibers from agricultural wheat straw and chemically depolymerize scrap PET plastic to harvest terephthalic acid (TPA). Using a low-heat (60°C) synthesis, we grow Iron Metal-Organic Frameworks (Fe-MOF) directly onto the plant fibers. The resulting composite acts like wet paper pulp. It captures anionic pollutants chemically, but because of its physical size, it can be separated from the treated water using passive wire mesh screens instead of centrifuges
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