CONICET team develops an innovative material to remove arsenic, pathogens and other contaminants from water

Table of Contents

Produced from activated carbon modified with metal salts, it could be applied in both domestic and industrial filtering systems. It has already been tested at laboratory level in accordance with ANMAT regulations.

A CONICET team developed an innovative material, based on activated carbon modified with metal salts, to simultaneously remove different contaminants from water. Image credit: Goyanes, Vergara, Barella, Rodríguez Ramírez

A research team from CONICET and University of Buenos Aaires (UBA) at the Buenos Aires Institute of Physics (IFIBA, CONICET-UBA) developed a novel material to remove arsenic and other contaminants from water, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides and dyes. The development consists of activated carbon modified with metal salts, along with an edible polymer. At the domestic level, the new product could be applied both in the classic countertop filters and in the purifying jugs, but it could also be adapted to an industrial filtration system or storage tanks for communities with little access to drinking water, without the need to use energy.

The product being measured while the testing phase. Image credit: Goyanes, Vergara, Barella, Rodríguez Ramírez

“It is a filling material that could be used in different commercial filter cartridges to replace conventional activated carbon. The incorporation of magnetic properties provides additional advantages, including the possibility of integrating a detection system that indicates the exhaustion of the filter material,” said Silvia Goyanes, a CONICET researcher at IFIBA and leader of the team that is carrying out the project.

Meanwhile, Alicia Vergara, who was recently selected as a CONICET researcher and will continue with this line of research, pointed that “the modifications we make to the activated carbon that is commercially available can be done through temperature-free processes and using low-cost equipment that is very common in the industry.”

Images of the graphic sketch of the device developed by researchers from the Polymers and Composite Materials Laboratory of the Physics Institute of the University of Buenos Aires. Each part is low cost and reusable. Image credit: Goyanes, Vergara, Barella, Rodríguez Ramírez

Development and testing
#

The product has already been developed and was successfully evaluated in the IFIBA Polymers and Composite Materials laboratory in accordance with ANMAT regulations, for domestic use. For the tests, a device was built to evaluate product performance at a flow rate of 500 milliliters per minute (equivalent to filling a one-liter bottle in approximately two minutes). The scientists highlight that this time could be reduced by modifying the cartridge design.

The researchers team: Silvia Goyanes, Carlos Rodríguez Ramírez, Alicia Vergara y Matías Barella. Image credit: Goyanes, Vergara, Barella, Rodríguez Ramírez

“The studies were carried out using water contaminated with 100 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic, following ANMAT regulations. It was possible to treat at least 8 thousand liters of water and lower the arsenic concentration to less than 10 ppb of arsenic, which is the recommended limit,” Vergara said.

Other contaminants
#

Although the team has not yet carried out specific studies on bacteria, fungi and viruses, the expectation is that the material will also be effective against these microorganisms, due to the active components that make it up. In the same way, they hope that the product will be efficient for the removal of herbicides such as paraquat and pesticides such as atrazine.

The product was also successfully tested in dyes. “The results were very good, as well as for contamination by antibiotics, such as tetracycline, where the material showed a high removal potential,” stated Matías Barella.

According to CONICET postdoctoral fellow Carlos Rodríguez Ramírez, the duration of the product will depend on how contaminated the water is with arsenic. However, he pointed out that “its performance in terms of the number of liters treated is comparable to that of the higher-cost filters sold today in Argentina.” In this same sense, Barella stated that even if it were manufactured with inputs purchased at retail, the total value of the product would be much lower than that of the arsenic filters currently marketed. “In addition, it offers the advantage of being reusable, since with a simple procedure the contaminant can be desorbed and the material can be used again,” Vergara said.

Entrepreneurs where are you?
#

Goyanes pointed out that the team are currently looking for a company to be able to move towards the commercialization of the development, under the conviction that in addition to having a positive social impact, the product offers potential profitability for those who decide to invest in it.

Contact [Notaspampeanas](mailto: notaspampeanas@gmail.com)