This Cheap, 2D Material Cleanses 99.9999% Of Bacteria From Water In 30 Minutes
Friday, February 22, 2019 IST
A novel breakthrough in China could bring cheap, clean drinking water to billions of people around the world. Perhaps most importantly, the process is powered by the sun.
GoodNewsNetwork reports that earlier this month, researchers from Yangzhou University developed a water system that can purify water of 99.9999% of bacteria — including E. coli. The process relies on 2D materials and sunlight.
The scientists’ tests confirm that the eco-friendly system can purify enough daily drinking water for four people in under 30 minutes. The university researchers published their findings in the journal Chem.
How does it work? Sheets of graphitic carbon nitride are used as a photocatalyst inside of a water container. Once they are directly exposed to sunlight, the sheets release electrons that bond with oxygen in the water and create compounds that purge bacteria from the water.
Of course, there are other purification systems that use similar chemical processes for destroying bacteria. But, they rely on photocatalysts that leave behind harmful chemical pollutants. Furthermore, those systems typically take over one hour to purify the same 10-liter bag of water as the newly-developed system.
“Its first-order disinfection rate was five times higher than that of previously reported best metal-free photocatalysts with only one-tenth catalyst consumption,” said the paper’s co-author Wang Chengyin.
The team is now working on implementing their system into portable drinking containers. The goal is to deploy the system to at-risk areas around the world.
“The future application of photocatalytic disinfection technology can significantly relieve clean-water scarcity and global energy shortage,” said Wang Da, lead researcher of the study.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...
Recently posted . 214K views . 1 min read
If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...
Recently posted . 10K views . 2 min read
The Langya henipavirus has a place with a similar group of infections, including Nipah, which is known to kill up to 3/4 of people in extreme cases.
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
Queen's death: The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately...
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
More in Global
China has another entry when it comes to buildings that look suspiciously like something else - a 12-storey university block strongly resembling a giant toilet....
Recently posted. 916 views . 11 min read
Last week, the Internet exploded with rumours that actress Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli had a hush-hush wedding in Italy planned...
Recently posted. 1K views . 3 min read
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday said he was poised to impose tariffs on $500 billion of goods from China, threatening in an inter...
Recently posted. 742 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 911 views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 4K views . 52 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 140 min read
Short on time but want to tone up all those trouble spots? We asked Danielle Natoni, a personal trainer and founder of Fit and Funky to create a strength training...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
The composite photo features 1.8 billion pixels.
Recently posted. 790 views . 0 min read