'Super sand' could improve drinking water
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Australian scientists say ordinary sand, used tofilter and purify drinking water around the world, can be made into a"super sand" five times more efficient.
Researchers writing in the journal Applied Materials & Interfaces saythe material could be a low-cost benefit in developing countries wheremore than a billion people lack clean drinking water.
Sand has been used to purify water for more than 6,000 years, and sandor gravel water filtration is endorsed by the World HealthOrganization, researchers Mainak Majumder and his colleagues write,but their study of a nanomaterial called graphite oxide suggests itcould be used to improve sand filtration in a cost-effective way.
Sand grains coated with graphite oxide become a "super sand" that cansuccessfully remove mercury and other contaminants from water.
While ordinary sand was saturated with mercury after just 10 minutesof filtration, the super sand was capable of absorbing the heavy metalfor more than 50 minutes, the researchers said.
Its filtration "performance is comparable to some commerciallyavailable activated carbon," at much less cost, the scientists said.
Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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