Bacterial Biofilm to the Rescue?

Researchers, at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, have found an elegant way of removing microplastics from polluted fluids (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/apr/28/scientists-find-way-to-remove-polluting-microplastics-with-bacteria). The researcher's study used cultures of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa which naturally creates a biofilm. These microbe 'nets' capture microplastics in polluted water. The biofilm can then form an easily disposable and recyclable 'blob'. This might work quite well on water in sewage farms or small lakes. Care would have to be taken, as Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause infections in humans. There are salt-water resistant bacteria.It is difficult, however, to imagine filtering all the microplastics out of the oceans with biofilm nets. That's a rather big volume of water to deal with and it doesn't stay in one place.