Surface Hydrophobization of Glass Wool Fibers via Methyltrimethoxysilane Silanization for Polyethylene-Based Microplastic Filtration

Filtration experiments revealed that untreated glass wool exhibited unstable and limited microplastic retention, whereas the modified samples demonstrated significantly improved and more consistent results. Among the conditions tested, the best results were achieved with a combination of 1 M NaOH pretreatment and silanization at 60 °C, yielding low, stable turbidity values. The observed performance is attributed to the combined effect of enhanced hydrophobic interactions, increased surface roughness, and mechanical entrapment within the fibrous structure.

Reusability tests showed that the modified material retained its microplastic-removal ability across multiple cycles, although some variability in performance was observed. Overall, this study demonstrates that an MTMS-based surface modification can improve the suitability of waste glass wool as a potential filtration medium for microplastic-containing suspensions.