Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
American scientists have developed a non-toxic powder that, in contact with sunlight, perfectly disinfects water. Ultimately, this could represent a practical solution for many people who still do not have access to drinking water on a daily basis.
It is researchers from Stanford University and the SLAC laboratory, dependent on the Department of Energy of the United States, who are in the process of developing this astonishing solution. This takes the form of a non-toxic powder which, in contact with sunlight, therefore disinfects the water to make it perfectly drinkable.
This powder, composed of nanoscale flakes of aluminum oxide, molybdenum sulphide, copper and iron oxide, is capable of killing thousands of bacteria per second when exposed to sunlight. sun.
The aim here is therefore to be able to disinfect water very quickly and effortlessly, these materials being relatively inexpensive and above all very abundant. What is truly innovative in fact is their devastating action in contact with each other. This non-toxic process comes here to compete with other solutions that are sometimes more dangerous, in particular water treatments based on chemical products, sometimes more tedious, such as ultraviolet light.
To demonstrate the effects of this solution, the scientists experimented with it in a sample of water contaminated with one million E. coli bacteria per millilitre. The experiment took place in direct sunlight and once the powder was diluted, it took only 60 seconds for no live bacteria to be detected. If they do not immediately find bacteria to oxidize, the various elements of this powder decompose into water and oxygen and are thus eliminated in a few seconds. Note that the chemical by-products generated by sunlight also dissipate very quickly. The water can therefore be drunk safely.
After the. coli, the researchers plan to test this new powder on other pathogens, including viruses and parasites that cause serious illnesses. If such a solution were one day to be developed on a large scale, starting with water treatment plants, it would be a revolutionary step forward. Currently, it is estimated that more than two billion people in the world do not have access to drinking water.
The results of their initial research were published in NatureWater.