For under US$2, this reusable filtration device instantly delivers clean water anywhere

“Our portable water filter … offers a sustainable solution to the long-standing issue of suspended solids pollution in water sources,” they said.

The research teams says their purification system is much more efficient than current commercial ultrafiltration membranes and maintains nearly 100 per cent particle removal efficiency after 30 uses. Photo: Handout

The system converts muddy water, river water, snow melt and water contaminated with nanoplastics into clean water, according to the researchers. It is suitable for people who do not have access to safe water sources and could serve as outdoor gear.

Globally, 2.2 billion people did not have access to safely managed drinking water in 2022, according to the World Bank. The World Health Organization said that in the same year at least 1.7 billion people in the world used sources of drinking water that were contaminated with faeces.

A separate study about micro-nanoplastics found that a litre of bottled water contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments on average. The paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 8 by researchers at Columbia University and Rutgers University in the US.

Nanoplastics less than 1 micrometre in length, or 1,000 nanometres, are tiny enough to pass through the intestines and lungs, to directly enter the bloodstream. They can then travel to organs such as the heart and brain, according to the scientists.

In the latest study, the researchers designed a biodegradable hydrogel film with “a densely stacked and entangled cellulose nanofibre network” made from wood powder, which has the same chemical components as ordinary paper.

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The thin film can effectively filter ultrafine particles larger than 10 nanometres. By comparison, a human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometres wide, while a Sars-CoV-2 virus particle has a diameter of about 80 nanometres.

With simple training, users can operate the device using only the push of a hand.

The system purifies water seven times faster than existing commercial ultrafiltration membranes and maintains nearly 100 per cent particle removal efficiency after 30 uses, according to the researchers.

Co-lead author Yu Guihua, a professor at the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and Texas Materials Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, said the filtered water could also be used for various household needs.

“The as-developed filter can be used to remove different types of suspended particles from various water sources with high efficiency. This makes it suitable for everyday tasks,” he said.

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The team said the filtered water complied with related hygiene standards. The World Health Organization said many countries considered its guidelines for drinking-water quality when setting national regulations and standards.

Yu said the scientists planned to work with governments and organisations in developing countries to distribute the device for free to households.

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In the future, they plan to use artificial intelligence tools to research and design filter materials that could see wider use.

Co-lead author Chen Wenshuai, a professor at the College of Material Science and Engineering at Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, said new AI-generated designs could make the filter more accessible.

“The current filter sets a high standard in removing particles with ultrafine sizes. With AI, we hope to effectively scale up production of the bio-based nanofibre hydrogel filter and lower the manufacturing costs, thus improving its potential for wide community use,” he said.

South China Morning Post