PolyGone Systems is a Princeton University spinoff cleantech company that provides systematic solutions for aquatic microplastic pollution. We have developed an affordable, portable and environmentally friendly filtration system that captures microplastics below the 1 millimeter scale and can be applied to a wide range of water bodies, including rivers, lakes and wastewater effluents.

Since 2021, PolyGone has completed three monitoring pilots at polluted lakes and rivers and built the world’s first microplastic removal pilot at a 40 million-gallon-per-day wastewater treatment facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey. PolyGone aims to intercept microplastic pollutants at critical points of emission and protect our water from microplastic contamination.

This presentation will demonstrate PolyGone's founding story and some of our ongoing projects of microplastic monitoring and removal in rivers and water treatment facilities.

Yidian Liu is the co-founder and chief operating officer of PolyGone Systems Inc. and a Forbes 30 under 30 fellow. PolyGone Systems is a Princeton University spinoff cleantech company with a mission to remove microplastic pollutants from waterways. Liu was a trained designer with a master’s degree in architecture from Princeton University. Since 2021, Liu and her team have won over $2.4 million in grant awards from Princeton University, the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology; the New Jersey Economic Development Authority; along with federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Additionally, they have successfully raised their pre-seed venture capital funding. Liu also served as a guest speaker at sustainability-focused events, such as Circular City Week in New York City, the Delaware Watershed Congress and the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture of Shenzhen and Hong Kong.