Panasonic has developed a new system for water purification
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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For most people, clean drinking water is not something special, but in many countries water is poisoned by various pollutants, and water purification systems are not always available.
Many systems have already been created for the purification and desalination of water and now Panasonic has contributed to create a technology in which water is purified by solar energy.
The other day the company presented a method for which ultraviolet and a photochemical catalyst are needed to clean the dirty water at high speed.
The main advantage of the new system for water purification is the ability to attach titanium oxide (TiO2) to the photocatalyst, which is activated by the action of sunlight. The main problem for developers was associated with titanium oxide, which when dissolved in water breaks up into ultrafine particles, making its collection extremely difficult.
Now there are many ways of attaching titanium oxide to larger particles, but all have a drawback - a significant loss of the active surface.
Panasonic has developed a method that allows you to assemble the tiniest titanium oxide particles and bind them to a zeolite (known adsorbent and catalyst), which solved the main problem. Thanks to this technology, photocatalysts retain their working surface. In addition, there is no need to use an additional binder component, since the particles are well attached due to ionic bonds.
When the zeolite is agitated, the titanium oxide is detached from the photocatalyst and dissolved in water, so that the reaction occurs faster than when the titanium oxide is applied to the surface. In addition, the new method makes it possible to process a larger volume of water in less time.
If the water remains at rest for a while, the titanium oxide is again attached to the zeolite and the process of its separation and drawing from the water, for further use, is also facilitated.
At the same time, the activation of catalysts occurs with the help of ultraviolet and they are able to purify water from impurities of pharmaceutical preparations in water.
The company Panasonic cooperates with several Indian research centers, where they are tested their products. According to company representatives, in India, about 70% of the population lives in dependence on groundwater, which is contaminated with chemical fertilizer residues, waste from plant operations, and other types of pollutants.
The company intends to supply small settlements with clean water, for example, using trucks equipped with a new system for water purification.
The company also works with local water supply stations and plans to create treatment facilities.
At this stage, the company is working to reduce the cost and requirements for the new purification system, so that this technology becomes available to the people of developing countries.
The company plans to develop a system for purifying water of smaller sizes.
