Innovative Ocean Cleanup Technologies and Projects
Many people’s favorite travel destinations will always be stunning beaches. There’s nothing like taking a break from your routine to unwind by the water. However, travel has a big role in the ocean’s pollution. The enormous ocean is frequently used as a landfill for plastic and other waste. In actuality, beaches release around 8 million metric tons of trash into the ocean annually.
Scientists and other creatives have created some amazing ocean cleanup programs and technologies to make up for this pollution. I’ll talk about a few of these amazing initiatives in this piece and how they’re promoting seawater sanitization.
The Ocean Cleanup Project
A group of Dutch scientists have developed a ground-breaking flotation device that collects marine debris, including microplastics and abandoned fishing nets. Since 2013, the floating device has been contributing to a clean ocean as a member of the NGO The Ocean Cleanup Project.
The flotation gadget has a wide screen that extends 62 kilometers and drops three meters into the water. It gathers waste without harming the marine ecosystems below, including plastics.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive collection of trash in the North Pacific Ocean that is roughly three times the size of France, was the inspiration for the creation of the gadget. Due to ocean currents, it gathers there and was previously impossible to clear. Over half of the rubbish that has accumulated in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch over the years may someday be cleaned up with the help of this technology, according to scientists.
Suzuki’s Clean Ocean Project
Suzuki, a well-known automaker, launched its Cleanup the World Campaign in 2010 as a component of its Clean Ocean Project. A Micro-Plastic Collecting Device was one of their key objectives. When operating, the gadgets use ocean water to cool the boat motors’ engines. The gadget filters the water and gathers microplastics as it pushes seawater through the engine pipes. The method combines the crucial job of cooling the engine with the extra advantage of promoting ocean cleanliness. Microplastics in the water will be gathered just by running the boat.
Suzuki is still developing their gadget to clean up the oceans. They intend to release it at some time in 2022 even if it is not currently available on the market. The business anticipates that everyone will be able to purchase it and that it will eventually become a common addition to boats. This would result in hundreds of microplastic collection devices constantly removing microplastic from the seas throughout the world.
Clear Blue Sea
FRED (Floating Robot For Eliminating Debris) was released into the ocean by a group of individuals from Clear Blue Sea, a nonprofit organization devoted to ocean cleaning. FRED is a cutting-edge vessel that uses solar energy to collect marine debris as it floats over the ocean. When FRED is full, it returns to the ground to empty and recycle the plastic it has collected.
Marine life is entirely safe around FRED. To actually alert any nearby marine species that it is close by, it emits an acoustic pinger sound. This makes it safe for all marine species to avoid it.
By 2024, Clear Blue Sea intends to have a fleet of 100 partially autonomously driven FREDs operating in the ocean.