Skip to content
Surprising Science

Nanoparticle Filtration System Provides Clean Drinking Water

Not just clean, but cheap: Researchers in India say that for less than US$3 per year, a rural family could have at least 10 liters of safe water each day using their device.
Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

What’s the Latest Development?


Families in rural Indian communities are currently helping to test a device that could provide them with an affordable and reliable source of safe drinking water. Developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, the filtration system combines several different types of nanoparticles into a composite that removes most toxic chemicals found in wells and other local water sources. The process takes about an hour to filter 10 liters of water in the current prototype, and the device itself costs less than US$3 per year. Details appeared in a paper published this week in Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.

What’s the Big Idea?

According to experts, 11 percent of the world’s population lacks access to improved sources of drinking water. For the people currently using the filtration device, paper co-author Thalappil Pradeep says his team “had to look at several problems…One is microbes. Another is bacteria and viruses, and then chemicals, like arsenic, lead and pesticides.” The current prototype works for the regions of India that are being tested, but Pradeep says they are working with people in other areas of the world to help identify their specific water issues.

Photo Credit: Peter Pearson/Flickr

Read it at LiveScience

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Related
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur in sem nisi. Donec at convallis felis. Curabitur id mattis libero. Nunc maximus dolor eget iaculis lobortis. Mauris eros mi, mattis […]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean volutpat ultricies nibh, ac placerat urna. Vivamus augue arcu, consectetur vitae est mollis, laoreet congue ante. Quisque a aliquet eros, ac […]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla finibus bibendum ligula, malesuada placerat libero vehicula vestibulum. Nulla ut tincidunt arcu, quis scelerisque dolor. Nunc pretium justo tristique nunc eleifend, […]

Up Next
Stephen Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease, uses Israeli technology as part of a computer system that helps him function and communicate.