A series of storms in Texas over the past few years, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the recent deep freeze in 2021, have posed significant risks to the population and resulted in prolonged periods without electricity or water for millions of people.
These disasters have inspired a researcher at The University of Texas at Austin to shift her focus towards developing innovations that can help communities respond to severe weather events. Her latest project involves a small device, about the size of a mug, that can quickly purify water by using a small electric charge to remove bacterial cells. In laboratory experiments, the device successfully eliminated 99.997% of E. coli bacteria from 2- to 3-ounce samples taken from Waller Creek in Austin within approximately 20 minutes, and it has the potential for even greater capacity.
“We are able to purify water using minimal energy because we utilize electric fields to guide the bacterial cells, and most bacterial cells are natural swimmers that move towards electrodes and become trapped,” explained D. Emma Fan, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, who led the research recently published in ACS Nano.
The device’s key component is a patented “branched” electrode developed by the research team. The electrode’s structure is inspired by the root system of a tree, with branches extending in multiple directions.
When the device is electrified, it generates a field that attracts the E. coli cells. The cells willingly “swim” into the electrode branches.
2023-08-02 17:24:03
Original from phys.org rnrn