Marusumi Paper and MOL will install a microplastic collection device, on a newbuilding woodchip carrier that will be delivered in 2022.
The device, which is under joint development by MOL and Miura, is the first device installed for a demonstration test announced on October 27, 2020. Since then, it has been installed on three bulk carriers, making this wood chip carrier the fifth vessel so equipped.
In order to collect the microplastics, the microplastic collection device has been installed and enable to collect the microplastic.
According to MOL, the device is able to collect tens of thousands of microplastics per vessel annually.
MOL aims to make the ocean clean and achieve resource recycling by installing the microplastic collection device on more vessels and recycling the collected microplastics.
In a similar development, NYK said that it achieved 100 samples at 100 locations in survey of microplastics collections over a wide range of the ocean which it has been conducting since 2020.
The samples collected will be analyzed in the laboratory of the Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) to help study the composition and concentration of microplastics floating in oceans around the world.
Since NYK started sampling from three vessels in March 2020, it has steadily expanded the number of vessels and achieved its goal of 100 samples at 100 locations, which it set together with Associate Professor Kameda of CIT throughout the year.
The analyzed data will be integrated into the “Worldwide Microplastic Map” produced by CIT, and the sampling date and time, location information, meteorological and oceanographic data, will be linked to the analysis results to create a platform that can be widely used by companies and researchers.
We believe that by continuing our activities and accumulating analysis data, we will be able to identify the source of the discharge and conduct research related to its impact on the ecosystem
