Is Bamboo Fiber The Cheapest Technology For Water Purification?

Published on April 18, 2018 15:40 by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology

Mesofilter Inc. introduced the cheapest technology for water purification – Mesopaper – bamboo fiber designed to immobilize water contaminants such as bacteria, radioactive elements, viruses, and heavy metals like mercury, lead and arsenic.

Unlike other contemporary methods of purifying water such as reverse osmosis, UV exposure, chemical treatment, and others, Mesopaper does not require electricity or additional supplies. It is the only requirement to purify water within a few minutes, saving over 80 percent of water purification cost.

Mesopaper is designed with three layers of bamboo fiber paper and ceramic granules manufactured from clay. The granules are sandwiched between each layer of the paper to serve as the main filtration unit that prevents passage of heavy metals and other contaminations, allowing water molecules and nutrients; magnesium and calcium to flow through its tiny pores. Viruses and bacteria are captured and deactivated in the granule pores which act like hooks.

Image: Mesopaper was first designed in 2005 by Liangjie Dong, Mesofilter CEO, chief scientist and co-founder.

The sieved particles gradually begin to close the passage as they are retained within the tiny hole, creating a blockage and gradually slow down the paper’s ability to filter. Mesopaper is also designed not to allow the filtered particles to re-contaminate the soil, water or create toxic sludge when it is disposed of because the filtration process seals the contaminants inside the granules.

According to WHO, globally, at least 2 billion people are currently drinking contaminated water. And an estimation of 842,000 people dies yearly from sicknesses caused by unsafe drinking water. Fast Company reported that “Bangladesh has an estimation of 20 million people exposed to arsenic in local drinking water in 2011,” while in the US, about 170 million people are said to be drinking water contaminated with radioactive elements that can cause cancer, in a report by GlobeNewswire.

The filters can also be used to purify tap water in many communities such as those ahead of Flint, Michigan in the US where the water has unhygienic levels of uranium, lead, and arsenic. The filters can also be shipped to victims of natural disasters to be used for the purification of water from local channels or rainwater. Mesopaper can also be used to decontaminate wastewater from industries or in water treatment plants.

Source: Industry Leaders

Media

Taxonomy

Treatment
Treatment Methods
Filtration
Filters
Filtration Solutions
Filtration