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| © Lee Jae Won |
US scientists have
developed a new polymer that has a unique capacity to remove pollutant
substances from water “in seconds.” The discovery could revolutionize the
water-purification industry, make the process cheaper, and involve minimum
energy.
RT report continues:
A
team of researchers from Cornell University made the breakthrough. The full
research has been published in Journal Nature this week.
“What
we did is make the first high-surface-area material made of cyclodextrin [sugar
molecules bound together in a ring],” said Will Dichtel, associate professor of
chemistry, who led the research, “combining some of the advantages of the
activated carbon with the inherent advantages of the cyclodextrin.”
“These materials will remove pollutants in
seconds, as the water flows by,” he said. “So there’s a potential for really
low-energy, flow-through water purification, which is a big deal.”
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A
porous material made from cup-shaped cyclodextrins, which rapidly bind
pollutants and remove them from contaminated water. © Dichtel Group
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The
polymer has already shown the “uptake of pollutants through adsorption at rates
vastly superior to traditional activated carbon – 200 times greater in some
cases,” says the press release of the university.
According
to Dichtel, activated carbons don’t bind pollutants as strongly as the new
polymer.
"We
knew that [water filtering] would be a likely application if we were
successful,” Dichtel says. “We were definitely pleasantly surprised with just
how good the performance is.”
Dichtel hopes this new
material can open ways to commercial water purification and also improve life
in developing countries.
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