Novel Bio-Functionalized Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Combined with a Compact Automated

Microplastic pollution in freshwater and wastewater systems has become a critical environmental and public-healthchallenge. Although magnetic nanoparticles (particularly Fe3O4-based) have been shown in laboratory studies tocapture microplastics effectively, most existing approaches remain expensive, difficult to scale, and lack practicalhardware for continuous or semi-continuous operation in real-world settings such as textile effluent treatment plants,reverse-osmosis (RO) reject streams, and domestic water systems in India. This paper presents a complete conceptualframework that integrates (i) a low-cost, bio-functionalized magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticle formulation utilizinglocally available plant-derived or agricultural-waste-derived coatings, and (ii) a compact, modular, automatedmagnetic separation and particle-recycling device designed specifically for Indian industrial and domestic watertreatment contexts. The proposed system aims to achieve high removal efficiency at significantly lower material andenergy cost than current laboratory protocols, while enabling easy regeneration and reuse of the magnetic particles.Clear novelty claims are articulated to support future intellectual-property protection and to establish authorshippriority. The work is positioned as a technical disclosure and research proposal ready for experimental validation andsubsequent patent filing.Keywords: microplastics removal; magnetic nanoparticles; Fe3O4; bio-functionalization; low-cost water treatment;automated magnetic separator; Indian textile effluent; novelty claims; patent support1. IntroductionPlastic production has grown exponentially since the mid-20th century. As a result, mic