A 12 year old girl engineer invented a device to combat sea microplastic contamination

A plastic that has not been recycled becomes fine particles of 5 mm or less is called microplastic . In recent years, this microplastic has become a big problem because it is contaminating sea, fish , table salt, etc, but this problem is that a girl engineer of only twelve years old is confronted with AccuWeather I am picking up.

12-year-old engineer inventory device to combat ocean microplastic pollution
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/6th-grader-invents-device-to-combat-ocean-microplastic-pollution/70005513

In Japan, a 12 - year - old girl Anna Dooo, a 6th grade elementary school student, is working on an invention to protect the Earth from microplastic contamination. Mr. Du is a girl living in Andover, Massachusetts State, USA, a person remaining in the finalist in the contest " 2018 Young Scientist Challenge " in 2018 . The 2018 Young Scientist Challenge is a contest in which boys and girls from fifth grade to second grade junior high school post a short movie introducing a solution to some problem and thirty thousand scientists review this movie is.

Mr. Du invented an underwater remote control module using infrared that can detect, photograph and remove microplastic from the marine environment without harming living beings.

According to AccuWeather that he interviewed Mr. Du directly, Mr. Du says "Plastic already has a big problem.The toxin called bisphenol A is produced in the body when fish eat microplastic.If fish is Even if you eat the plastic that you ate, this toxin will remain in the body, "he said, pointed out that problems due to microplastic contamination have spread to organisms as well as the environment.

According to the latest research, microplastic has been detected from 73% of stomachs of fish living in the Atlantic Ocean and Middle Deepwater Aquifer, suggesting that pollution is diffusing at a speed faster than imagined.

Pollutant "microplastic" was in the stomach of fish in 73% of the Atlantic · Middle deep sea water layer - GIGAZINE

Adverse effects on the human body caused by humans eating fish eating microplastic are also considered problematic. Also, it is confirmed in a very small amount that human beings ingest micro plastic in the body not only via fish but also via table salt. In addition, it seems that phthalocyanine used for pigment is detected in Japanese brand salt.

The table salt made from sea water contains minute micro plastic particles that are concerned about health effects - GIGAZINE

In order to solve the microplastic contamination which is the problem in the world like this, Doo decides to use the infrared sensor for the remotely controllable module. The use of an infrared sensor seems to be because it makes it easy to easily distinguish harmless substances in water and microplastic without sending samples to the laboratory.

"When I learned that plastic floating in the sea is a big problem, I wanted to work on ocean related projects, and I went to the beach in Boston / Harbor, I was able to see ", said Doe who talks about things when deciding to tackle microplastic contamination.

The unique point of Du 's invention lies in the mathematical algorithm that is being used to identify microplastic. "The first thing I did was to take plastic photographs underwater, but I found that it takes a really long time to screen plastics from photos, so you can identify what is plastic and what is not so We decided to make an algorithm, "Dou says, an algorithm for identifying microplastic underwater is what Doo made by himself.

It seems that micro plastic is being detected by underwater remote control module. The underwater remote control module is connected to the controller by wire and only extends 25 feet (about 7.6 meters) at the time of article creation, but he plans to extend it in the future as well.

Dr. Rus Claudio, a marine health scientist, said, "I was very impressed with her innovative idea of ​​solving plastic problems in the ocean, in particular microplastic contamination." .

A movie that explains about the underwater remote control module that Dou posted for The 2018 Young Scientist Challenge can be seen from the following. In addition, Mr. Dou plans to further improve the underwater remote control module with the help of her leading expert, Dr. Ann Fornov, an advanced research expert.

DE3 MYSL Submission - Developing a Smart Infrared Based ROV to Identify Ocean Microplastics - YouTube