04/06/2026
SHE'S 18 AND SHE JUST INVENTED A FILTER THAT REMOVES 96% OF MICROPLASTICS.
Mia Heller was 18 years old when she invented a water filtration system that removes 95.5% of microplastics from drinking water. She built it in her garage in Warrenton, Virginia.
The inspiration came from her own home. A few years ago, Heller learned that the local water in her area was contaminated with PFAS and microplastics. Her family installed a filtration system, but watching her mother constantly replace expensive filter membranes made her think there had to be a better way.
She started working on a prototype in early 2025. By summer, she had a working model.
Her system uses ferrofluid, a magnetic liquid, to capture microplastic particles as water flows through a three part system. A magnetic field then pulls the contaminants out, and the ferrofluid gets recovered and reused in a closed loop. The device is about the size of a bag of flour and could fit under a kitchen sink.
She built her own turbidity sensor to test the results. Her tests showed the prototype removed 95.52% of microplastics and recycled 87.15% of the ferrofluid. Traditional water treatment plants typically remove between 70% and 90% of microplastics.
Heller is a student at Kettle Run High School and also takes math, science, and technology classes at Mountain Vista Governor's School. She was a finalist at the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, where she received a $500 award from the Patent and Trademark Office Society.
She hopes to eventually bring the filter to market, though ferrofluid is currently expensive to produce at large scale. For now, she sees it as a system for individual home use.
Microplastics are tiny particles measuring about 1 nanometer to 5 millimeters in size. They come from degraded plastic and have been detected in more than 1,300 species, including humans.
