“Revolutionary Water Purification Powder developed by American Researchers to make Water Drinkable”

American researchers have developed a recyclable, inexpensive and non-toxic powder to make water drinkable. This scientific advance was relayed on Thursday, May 18 in the journal “Nature Water”.

A revolutionary discovery. American researchers from Stanford University and Stanford’s National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) have developed a recyclable, non-toxic powder to make water drinkable. The latter uses the sun to kill bacteria that may be present in the water.

“Waterborne diseases are responsible for 2 million deaths a year, the majority among children under 5 years old. We believe our new technology will facilitate game-changing changes in water disinfection and inspire further innovation in this area,” said Tong Wu, co-lead author of the study published Thursday, May 18 in the journal «Nature Water».

“For hikers and backpackers, one might consider carrying a tiny amount of powder and a small magnet. You put the powder in the water, shake it a little under the sunlight and in a minute you have drinking water. You use the magnet to remove the particles for later use”, deciphered Yi Cui, one of the scientists working for this study.

A cheap, recyclable and non-toxic powder

This non-toxic powder was composed of nanoflakes comprising iron oxide, aluminum oxide, copper and molybdenum sulphide. Mixed with water and sunlight, this composition has the effect of creating molecules called hydroxyl radicals (HO), which are deadly for bacteria.

The powder developed by the American researchers did not incorporate the two technologies traditionally used to decontaminate water, namely chemicals and ultraviolet (UV) light. The first has the disadvantage of producing possible toxic by-products and the second of being particularly energy intensive in terms of electricity.

This innovation also has the advantage of being recyclable. With its magnetic effect, a simple magnet allows the user of the powder to collect the nanoflakes due to the iron present in their composition.

“The materials used are inexpensive and quite abundant,” Professor Yi Cui concluded. This weighty economic argument is cause for hope for 30% of the world’s population, that is to say more than two billion people in the world, who do not have access to drinking water and who essentially live in disadvantaged countries.