New Atlas

Science Audio available

Rosy tech offers better, cheaper water purification

Ben Coxworth May 31, 2019

"Solar steaming" is a form of water purification in which sunlight is used to heat tainted water, turning it to steam which condenses back into liquid. That clean liquid is then collected as drinking water. A new system offers improved performance, and it copies the structure of the rose flower.

A bouquet of the rose-inspired (or actually tulip-inspired) solar steamers

Science Audio available

Blowing hot CO2 bubbles to purify wastewater

Michael Irving March 24, 2019

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra have tested a new method for sterilizing water using hot bubbles of carbon dioxide, which they've found to be both effective and efficient.

A new device uses hot bubbles of carbon dioxide to kill viruses and bacteria in water

Good Thinking

UV-emitting water bottle cap is made to smite microbes

Ben Coxworth January 18, 2019

Washing the inside of a water bottle can be tricky, causing some people to wonder just how clean it really is. Well, CrazyCap is made to kill microbes by replacing a bottle's existing cap with one that shines UV light into the water. It can even be used to purify water that's collected on the go.

CrazyCap should reportedly be compatible with most third-party "cola-style" bottles

Environment

Special sand could let us drink stormwater from the streets

Ben Coxworth August 30, 2018

When it rains heavily, even in arid places where water is scarce, the stormwater typically just runs off the streets and down the sewer drains. Thanks to a new "engineered sand," though, that road-polluted liquid could soon be cleaned up and used for drinking water.

A sample of the manganese oxide-coated sand

Outdoors Audio available

The telescoping trekking pole that also purifies water

Ben Coxworth August 28, 2018

If you spend much time backcountry hiking, chances are you're the sort of person who would find use for at least two things: a trekking pole and a water purifier. Well, PurTrek combines them both in one carbon fiber-bodied device.

The PurTrek trekking pole/water purifier in use

Environment

Waste steel could keep E. coli out of rivers

Ben Coxworth May 24, 2018

When rain water runs down city streets and into storm sewers, it can be carrying a lot of filth with it – filth such as E. coli bacteria, which may end up in rivers. There could be an inexpensive and efficient new way of ridding the water of that bacteria, however, using chips of waste steel.

Waterborne E. coli bacteria may be no match for tiny steel chips

Materials

Soak and destroy: Titanium nanoparticles trap and kill contaminants in water

Michael Irving March 22, 2018

Researchers have developed a new “mat” that can adsorb and destroy pollutants from water. It's made up of titanium dioxide nanoparticles embedded into polymer fibers, which destroys contaminants through UV light. The team says the design is faster, safer and more energy efficient than other systems.

The fiber mats are able to adsorb pollutants out of water, before the embedded titanium dioxide ...

Science

Burnt wood used to purify water

Ben Coxworth November 16, 2017

In some parts of the world, one of the main ways of obtaining drinking water involves using the heat of the sun to boil salty or tainted water. That process, known as "solar steam generation," may soon be made simpler and less expensive … using burnt wood.

The solar steam generation testing rig that was used in the study

Science

Purifying water with swimming, bacteria-hunting microbots

Michael Irving June 28, 2017

In the future, contaminated water may be made drinkable not through the addition of harsh chemicals, but by pouring in a bucket of swimming robots instead. Spherical microbots have been developed that swim around under their own power to catch and kill deadly bacteria before being easily removed.

Swimming microbots could help purify water by hunting down and killing bacteria, before being removed with ...

Good Thinking

Wood could clean up in the world of water purification

Ben Coxworth March 20, 2017

Oftentimes, the places that require water purification the most – such as developing nations or disaster sites – have the least in the way of infrastructure. Help could be on the way, however, in the form of water filters made from wood.

Water is filtered using the cellulose-based system