Caring for the environment: Peruvian researchers develop device to collect microplastic waste

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

Researcher students Max Surco and Diana Rosales and research professor Ruth Manzanares, from the Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN), created Sugon, a bionic device whose design was inspired by a leafy seadragon and its biomorphic characteristics.

All three creators belong to the Giadips Team, a multidisciplinary research group directed by Manzanares at UPN to apply innovation in product and services.

“The carelessness and irresponsibility of human beings unleashed a contamination of hundreds of tons of waste in the sea that, due to currents, formed plastic islands. 8% are microplastics consumed unconsciously by marine fauna,” stated Max Surco in a UPN press release.

Surco and his fellow researchers developed the Sugon leafy seadragon-type device, which has metal meshes on its arms and tail that work as filters, helping to collect microplastics that are later directed by the same force of the sea towards a container with a non-return valve.

The device is controlled through GPS signals by a complementary charging and control station that uses solar and tidal energy to inform on the course of the ocean cleanup and weather.