Removing toxic heavy metal that is persistent and widely present in most water resources is extremely difficult. The biggest challenge lies in removing lead. This is because it is present in tiny proportions but still vastly exceeds all other elements and compounds. Existing water filter methods like distillation or osmosis are problematic as they remove everything from the water altogether. The process thus results in taking more energy than needed. It is also counterproductive since elements like sodium and magnesium are vital for making drinking water healthy.
A research team has successfully designed a new cost and energy-efficient approach to treating water-laden with heavy metals. The method is a considerable contribution to Water Filter Market as this is the first one to treat lead-contaminated water at home and industrial levels. Further, it is also a step ahead of all the existing methods in cost and efficiency.
To accomplish this, a team used a process known as shock electrodialysis, wherein an electric field creates a shockwave in an electrically charged porous substance carrying the contaminated water. The shock wave works by propagating from one side to the other while the voltage increases. Thus, leaving behind a zone where the metal ions are depleted, the feed stream is divided into brine and a fresh stream. The process showed a 95% decrease in lead within the outgoing fresh stream.
This process makes the approach cheaper as the electrical energy applied to separate the materials is going after the high-value target – the lead. Power is not wasted on removing elements and compounds like sodium. Moreover, as lead exists in low concentrations, many currents are needed to remove the ions, making the technique cost-effective.
However, the process still has several limits. For now, it has only been demonstrated at a minuscule laboratory scale with prolonged flow rates. Further research is required for the process to be scaled up and applicable for practical in-house systems and large-scale industrial use. Nonetheless, the researchers are optimistic that after a few years of research, they would accomplish both of these things and remove the existing limits in the system.
The process has a wide area of applications within the industry, like cleaning water produced due to drilling or mining operations. This would ensure that the contaminated water is either reused or properly disposed off. In some instances, metals responsible for contaminating water can also be recovered and used for approaches like pharmaceuticals or semiconductors, or other types of high-tech products.