Posted on 07/01/2021 8:29:26 AM PDT by Red Badger
A water disinfectant created on the spot using just hydrogen and the air around us is millions of times more effective at killing viruses and bacteria than traditional commercial methods, according to scientists from Cardiff University.
Reporting their findings today in the journal Nature Catalysis, the team say the results could revolutionize water disinfection technologies and present an unprecedented opportunity to provide clean water to communities that need it most.
Their new method works by using a catalyst made from gold and palladium that takes in hydrogen and oxygen to form hydrogen peroxide—a commonly used disinfectant that is currently produced on an industrial scale.
Over four million tons of hydrogen peroxide are made in factories each year, where it is then transported to the places it is used and stored. This means that stabilizing chemicals are often added to the solutions during the production process to stop it degrading but these reduce its effectiveness as a disinfectant.
Another common approach to disinfecting water is the addition of chlorine; however, it has been shown that chlorine can react with naturally occurring compounds in water to form compounds which, in high doses, can be toxic to humans.
The ability to be able to produce hydrogen peroxide at the point of use would overcome both efficacy and safety issues currently associated with commercial methods.
In their study, the team tested the disinfection efficacy of commercially available hydrogen peroxide and chlorine compared to their new catalytic method.
Each was tested for its ability to kill Escherichia coli in identical conditions, followed by subsequent analysis to determine the processes by which the bacteria were killed using each method.
The team showed that as the catalyst brought the hydrogen and oxygen together to form hydrogen peroxide, it simultaneously produced a number of highly reactive compounds, known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which the team demonstrated were responsible for the antibacterial and antiviral effect, and not the hydrogen peroxide itself.
The catalyst-based method was shown to be 10,000,000 times more potent at killing the bacteria than an equivalent amount of the industrial hydrogen peroxide, and over 100,000,000 times more effective than chlorination, under equivalent conditions.
In addition to this, the catalyst-based method was shown to be more effective at killing the bacteria and viruses in a shorter space of time compared to the other two compounds.
It is estimated that around 785 million people lack access to water and 2.7 billion experience water scarcity at least one month a year.
In addition to this, inadequate sanitation—a problem for around 2.4 billion people around the world—can lead to deadly diarrheal diseases, including cholera and typhoid fever, and other water-borne illnesses.
Co-author of the study Professor Graham Hutchings, Regius Professor of Chemistry at the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, said: "The significantly enhanced bactericidal and virucidal activities achieved when reacting hydrogen and oxygen using our catalyst, rather than using commercial hydrogen peroxide or chlorination shows the potential for revolutionizing water disinfection technologies around the world.
"We now have proven one-step process where, besides the catalyst, inputs of contaminated water and electricity are the only requirements to attain disinfection.
"Crucially, this process presents the opportunity to rapidly disinfect water over timescales in which conventional methods are ineffective, whilst also preventing the formation of hazardous compounds and biofilms, which can help bacteria and viruses to thrive."
Explore further
Scientists demonstrate a better, more eco-friendly method to produce hydrogen peroxide
More information:
A residue-free approach to water disinfection using catalytic in situ generation of reactive oxygen species, Nature Catalysis (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-021-00642-w , www.nature.com/articles/s41929-021-00642-w
Journal information: Nature Catalysis
Provided by Cardiff University
Yes, decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen and then recombining them back into water will do a pretty thorough job of purification.
Yeah the Sun does a pretty good job of turning water into vapor and condensing it into (rain) clouds and releasing it on the just and unjust alike.
Clean water is the most important commodity on the planet.
Anything that makes the production of this commodity cheaper, faster, more efficient and effective is a worthy activity.
Just hydrogen and the air around us...... (and gold and palladium)
It said it was effective. I didn’t notice it to say it was cheap.
Would this method also desalinate water?
Cheaper desalination methods would be very welcome in areas that have sea water but little to no rainfall
Yes, decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen and then recombining them back into water will do a pretty thorough job of purification.
—
Boiling in a retort vessel with drip outlet for boiled water - nothing new here.
Seems very likely....................
As a catalyst that isn’t degraded.............
Bump for later.
“Their new method works by using a catalyst made from gold and palladium....”
Thieves all over the world are right now looking forward to the deployment of this tech.
Really would be good if California could just hook up a giant garden hose to the ocean and spray water over their fires.
Not practical I know, but if there was a really cheap way to make desalinated water, it might give California the options they never had before.
“Would this method also desalinate water?”
uh, NOPE!
Shucks.
“It is estimated that around 785 million people lack access to water”.
Ok, that is not possible. People can’t live without water. So when I read that - how can I believe other statements?
Is it in production yet?
“Their new method works by using a catalyst made from gold and palladium...”
How are the people who can’t afford clean water going to afford gold and palladium???
“The catalyst-based method was shown to be 10,000,000 times more potent at killing the bacteria than an equivalent amount of the industrial hydrogen peroxide.”
So it is 10 million times more deadly to bacteria than “industrial hydrogen peroxide”? And a 100 million times as effective as chlorine? Yes that is very believable. /s
OK, here's a freebie for the good of places like California with an ocean nearby and too little rain. Think of the lifeboat survival kit's water distiller, writ large. Solar evaporation providing fresh water, with sea salt as a byproduct.
After you build the first dozen or so, if you're inclined to send me a gratuity, I wouldn't object.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.