A water filter under development at Stanford University removes bacteria from water quickly and without clogging--and could lead to a simple and inexpensive method of cleaning water for the developing world. The device, which uses a piece of cotton treated with nanomaterial inks, kills bacteria with electrical fields but uses just 20 percent of the power required by pressure-driven filters.At least a billion people have access only to water contaminated by pathogens or pollution. "There is a huge need for an extremely robust, low-cost filter material that does not require a lot of power," says Mark Shannon, who directs a center of advanced materials for water purification at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Most places that need this the most do not have electricity at all, or at most a couple of hours a day," says Shannon, who is not involved with the research.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: Clean Water for the Developing World
Author: Katherine Bourzac
