“We’ve solved a billion-dollar research problem,” says Collins. “This treatment can be done by anyone, anywhere, on any quantity of water.”
What’s in your water? If it’s pollutant BPA, there might soon be a quick fix for that. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is found in everything from DVDs to credit card receipts to dental fillings, and has been linked to a range of health problems in humans, including cardiovascular disease and liver enzyme abnormalities. A new technique claims to be able to remove 99 per cent of the BPA from water in just 30 minutes.
BPA is a micropollutant, a type of everyday chemical that can affect people even in low doses. Most of our exposure comes from canned food and plastic food and drink containers. Studies have also shown that the chemical is found in soil, sediments, sewage sludge, air — and drinking water.
Terrence Collins at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania and his colleagues set out to find a cheap way to remove BPA from water. After 15 years of work, the team came up with a solution: first, they add a group of catalysts called TAML activators to contaminated water, next they add hydrogen peroxide.
The TAML activators work much like the enzymes in our bodies do, speeding up chemical reactions. In combination with the hydrogen peroxide, the TAML activators cause the BPA in pH-neutral water — the typical pH of wastewater — to assemble into larger clumps called oligomers within 30 minutes. These clumps aren’t harmful, and can be easily filtered out of the water.
Full article: How to strip 99 per cent of harmful BPA from water in 30 minutes | New Scientist
More about water treatment:
Understanding chemical byproducts formed during water treatment
Water treatment for cement plant wastewater
Salem water sees decrease in toxins, Wilsonville sees increase
How to strip 99 per cent of BPA from water in 30 minutes
How is tap water treated? What causes a boil-water advisory?
