The University of Southern Australia and a group of Chinese researchers are working on a new groundbreaking water purification method to deal with the looming issue of global water scarcity. They are focusing their efforts on the issue of pesticide pollutants and seawater desalination. Their main goal is to drastically increase the availability of sustainable safe drinking water worldwide.
Pesticide usage has risen by 62 percent over the last twenty years and is now a significant threat to water supplies. The technique the Australian and Chinese researchers are developing shows that powdered activated carbon (PAC) can efficiently remove pesticides from water.
The researchers reduced the size of PAC particles from 38 μm to 6 μm, which allowed them to use 75% less PAC. This made the process more cost-effective, improving its efficiency. The smaller PAC particles also helped remove harmful pesticides without leaving any harmful residues in the water.
This suggests the method can successfully and effectively purify water, which would be key in the context of global scarcity.
Pesticides in water have been one of the leading causes of cancer and other diseases
Pesticides in water have been regularly consumed for decades and are the leading factor behind diseases like cancer, which shows just how crucial it is to lower their levels. These researchers also aim to apply their water purification technology to other poisonous chemicals. Chemosphere, a peer-reviewed chemical journal, has already said the technology could be a game changer across the world.
This process, however, is not the only one that could potentially solve water global scarcity. The research team has also come up with a faster and more cost-effective process of desalination.
This new study linked 22 chemicals commonly found in tap water to cancer pic.twitter.com/9tkWlVwh7o
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) September 21, 2019
Desalination involves converting seawater into freshwater. However, it is energy-intensive and poses environmental risks. The team, however, has found an alternative for this, with the use of clay minerals.
Clay minerals could be the key to water purification and solving global water scarcity
This process is a solar-driven desalination method that increases evaporation rates and reduces the negative impacts on the environment. The team claims that implementing this process could give billions all over the world access to purified drinking water.
Global water scarcity is often thought of as a problem of the future. This, however, could not be further from the truth. According to UNICEF, nearly 4 billion people every year have no adequate access to water, and they expect global water scarcity to only worsen in the coming years.
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