The demand for these technologies , innovations , and products is on the increase as a result of the demand for an alternative water source . than conventional filtration systems and is well suited to a variety of water processing needs .
Euglena biofiltration system
Euglena is an aquatic organism that absorbs water pollutants . With this characteristic , Canadian company Noble Purification has developed a filtration system to treat water , using controlled algae to bloom in wastewater , which absorbs toxins in the water . Noble Tech Inc . researches , cultivates , and markets unique microalgae strains and their derivatives for various market applications , from wastewater treatment to nutritional products and , eventually , pharmaceuticals .
Graphene aerogel
Researchers at the Chinese Hubei University have designed a graphene aerogel film that , through using only sunlight , can produce water vapour at room temperature . The team explains that the aerogel floats on the surface , where it heats up only a small part of the water column , “ while the temperature of the bulk water is far below the boiling point .”
Where fuel or access to electricity is limited , this sunlight-harvesting graphene film could convert seawater or wastewater into drinking water . Desalinating seawater to make it drinkable usually means boiling it and then collecting and condensing the steam .
The team showed that under simulated sunlight , the aerogel could heat up 100ml of water to 45 ° C , about 13 ° C higher than water without the aerogel . The material ’ s porous structure pumps the generated steam away from the surface , allowing water to evaporate 13 times faster than it would without the aerogel .
A downside , however , is the durability of the film for use in a desalination device , as it is currently easily broken when picked up . “ I do not see fundamental difficulties in bringing the current technology into real life applications , although much more feasibility studies should be done ,” adds a member of the team . u
* Contributors : Chemistryworld . com ; all-about-water-filters . com ; groundwater . org .