Water Filtration

Written by Ariel Schwartz

Published on September 15th, 2008
Originally posted in Clean Technica.com

Nanotechnology seems to be invading all facets of modern life, from the pills you take to the batteries that power your iPod. Pretty soon, carbon nanotubes may even filter your water.

Researchers at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in India are investigating the hollow carbon fibers as a potential water filter. They believe the unique chemical properties of nanotubes mean that only water molecules can pass through their interiors, while toxic metal ions, viruses, and bacteria cannot.

Additionally, the smooth, water-repellent interior of the nanotubes means that a filter made from the technology would have a high flow rate of water without fouling—so it would be very efficient.

But there’s still plenty of work to be done before carbon nanotubes are a viable option for filtering. The Indian research team is currently trying to engineer nanoscale structures to form arrangements that can efficiently decontaminate water.

With the rapid rise of contaminated drinking water around the world, solutions are desperately needed. Since poor countries are more likely to lack access to drinking water, a carbon nanotube filter will be most useful if it is both simple and cheap to operate and maintain. And if that massive hurdle is surpassed,  developing nations may suddenly be a lot better off.

Established by the U.S. EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, the Drinking Water Academy (DWA) is a long-term training initiative whose primary goal is to expand EPA, State, and Tribal capabilities to implement the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In addition to providing classroom and Web-based training, the DWA will act as a resource for training materials pertaining to SDWA implementation. EPA formed the DWA to help EPA, States, and Indian Tribes enhance program capability to meet the public health protection objectives of the SDWA requirements. The 1996 SDWA Amendments created a number of new programmatic challenges for the States, Tribes, and the water systems they regulate. The Amendments also provided new funding opportunities to meet these growing needs. DWA training will support EPA, State, and Tribal efforts to implement these new regulations.

Today, the DWA is highlighting the importance of sanitary surveys in protecting our nation’s drinking water. When conducted properly by qualified personnel, sanitary surveys reduce the risk of waterborne disease; provide an opportunity to educate system operators; identify systems needing technical or capacity development assistance; and identify candidates for enforcement action. The DWA provides sanitary survey training and other resources to upgrade and maintain the ability of inspectors to conduct comprehensive, technically sound sanitary surveys of small water systems. These surveys have been invaluable to homeowners and business people when deciding on the best water filtration system or purifier for their drinking water needs.

For more information visit www.epa.gov

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As an avid fan of all things sci-fi, I’ve always been quickly drawn to anything that uses words like “nanotechnology” undoubtedly because it just sounds cool, but also because I suppose I’m always secretly hoping that if I read on I’ll hear about some new scientific breakthrough that will deliver to the world that which until now was only in the mind of someone like Gene Roddenberry. Admittedly, the article “Water Filters Rely on Nanotech” may not have rivaled an episode of Star Trek, but to those of us living in the here and now Read the rest of this entry »