Electric Bugs Used to Detect Water Pollution
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Bath Scientists Developed a Low-cost Device to Monitor Water Quality
Current methods of detecting pollutants in water are costly, time-consuming and require specialist technical expertise. However researchers from the University in collaboration with Bristol Robotics Laboratory at the University of the West of England, have created a low cost sensor using 3D printing technology that can be used directly in rivers and lakes for continuous water quality monitoring.
The sensor contains bacteria that produce a small measurable electric current as they feed and grow. The researchers found that when the bacteria are disturbed by coming into contact with toxins in the water, the electric current drops, alerting to the presence of pollutants in the water.
Dr Mirella Di Lorenzo, Lecturer inChemical Engineeringat Bath, explained: "When the bacteria feed in a microbial fuel cell, they convert chemical energy into electrical energy that we can measure.
The effects of pollution on ecosystems are currently assessed using fish or daphnia, which is costly, takes time and is difficult to reproduce the results.
Other methods of detecting water pollutants involve mass spectrometry which is a very sensitive process but requires expensive specialist equipment and expertise, so is unsuitable for routine widespread water monitoring, and impossible in some of the developing countries that need this technology most.
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