Clean water for the environment
Credit: Björn Wickman and Adam Arvidsson/Chalmers University of Technology
By Idha Valeur
Mercury and other heavy metals contaminated water is a leading cause of damage to the environment and people’s health. Solutions for cleaning water is therefore highly sought after. Swedish researchers have found a new way using an electrochemical process.
The researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have the last two years been studying this process of cleaning water. The method works in the way of extracting the heavy metal ions from water by encouraging the ions to form an alloy with another metal. The electrode making this possible is made of platinum. Using this process there will be no risk of the mercury re-entering the water, because the alloy formed by the metals is stable.
Björn Wickman, research leader from the Department of Physics at Chalmers University of Technology, said, ‘Today, cleaning away the low, yet harmful, levels of mercury from large amounts of water is a major challenge. Industries need better methods to reduce the risk of mercury being released in nature.
‘Our new method makes it possible to reduce the mercury content in a liquid by more than 99 percent. This can bring the water well within the margins for safe human consumption.’
As this process can be fully powered by solar cells, it can be used to clean drinking water in environments heavily affected. It could also be useful for reducing waste and increase waste and process water purity levels in the chemical and mining industries, as well as metal production.
More information can be read here: go.nature.com/2AgS31p