In the United Kingdom, CustoMem developed a new granular absorbent that can bind and remove a variety of micro-pollutants which are usually very tough to deal with using existing treatments. In particular, Perfluorinated Compounds, or PFCs, are highly toxic to animals and humans but are used in many sectors of society today like firefighting foams, coated cookware, sports clothing and medical equipment.
However, this new absorbent made from a nanocellulose-based material can remove these types of toxic micro-pollutants ten times faster and twice as many pollutants than the usual materials. Even better, the biomaterial absorbent can be customized to target specific pollutants, which is handy for navy and air force bases where firefighting foams are used, or to target pollutants found in wastewater from pharmaceutical or textile industries.