Chemists at the University of California, Berkeley have found a way to make it easier to remove from water toxic metals -
Desalination or salt removal is just onea step in the production of drinking water, for example for agriculture. Before or after salt removal, the water is purified from boron, heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. Often this process leaves behind toxins that are difficult to dispose of.
New membrane-based method removes almost 100%toxic metals and releases valuable metals for later use or disposal. According to the authors, the membrane is easy to integrate into current water treatment systems.
Under development, chemists from CaliforniaThe University of Berkeley has synthesized flexible polymer membranes with nanoparticles that can be tuned to absorb specific metal ions, such as gold or uranium.
The membrane can be configured for a specific type of particle that it will absorb.
Researchers hope they can customizenanoparticles for the removal of other types of toxic chemicals, including a common groundwater pollutant: PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances found in plastics or, for example, radioactive isotopes from wastewater from nuclear power plants.
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