Indian Researchers Have Demonstrated the Use of Plastic to Purify the Water

  • News
  • 1.8K

Recycling is the only option to handle plastic waste at present. Now Indian scientists have found a new use for plastic waste – for decontamination of water.

Indian Researchers Have Demonstrated the Use of Plastic to Purify the Water

Dr. Premanjali Rai and Dr. Kunwar P. Singh from Environmental Chemistry Division, CSIR – Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow have used plastic waste to develop a low – cost magnetically responsive adsorbent material which can be used to remove an antibiotic cephalexin from the water.

Dr. Premanjali Rai

The indiscriminate burning of plastic results in the emission of deadly gases and carcinogens into the environment. Dumping them in landfills results in leaching of toxins into ground and surface water resources. Now scientists have formulated an effective strategy of upcycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste into a functional material to mitigate another critical environmental problem -the emerging levels of antibiotics in water.

“We collected PET refuse from the surroundings and converted the same into a magnetically responsive carbon nano-material by carbonization and activation of the PET char under controlled conditions and magnetic modification by a simple chemical precipitation route,” explained Dr. Rai.

Extensive use and disposal of pharmaceuticals in the environment is leading to its contamination and increasing antibiotic resistance. Widely used antibiotic, Cephalexin, is detected as micropollutant in the environment. ” This newly developed low-cost magnetic nanomaterial has the adsorptive potential for cephalexin from the water. The minimal adsorbent dose of 0.4 gram per liter could remove greater than half of the initial cephalexin concentration under laboratory conditions. This technique of magnetic separation for spent adsorbent decreases the secondary pollution problems associated with the non-magneto active adsorbents”, said Dr. Rai.

The newly developed adsorbents have considerable desorption potential and can be reused. These advantages make it an efficient adsorbent for removal of emerging micropollutants. These findings will prompt to develop more innovative strategies for non-biodegradable waste management.

This work has been published in the Journal of Environmental Management. The research team included Dr. Premanjali Rai and Dr. Kunwar P. Singh, Environmental Chemistry Division, CSIR – Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow. (India Science Wire)

Journal Article  http://bit.ly/2o85KgG

Rate

0 out of 5 stars(0 ratings)
Excess of N Fertilizers Hampers Germination and Root Growth in Rice

Excess of N Fertilizers Hampers Germination and Root Growth in Rice

Excessive use of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium-based fertilizers is causing environmental contamination and abuse of fertilizer subsidies. Now Indian scientists have identified rice cultivars that are efficient in nitrogen use

  • News
  • 1.6K
Read more
India-Italy Tech Meet Focuses on Technological Entrepreneurship

India-Italy Tech Meet Focuses on Technological Entrepreneurship

A two-day technology summit between India and Italy began here today with the Science and Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan calling for the promotion of high quality and high impact collaborative research projects across the value chain, with a focus on boosting technological entrepreneurship

  • News
  • 1.8K
Read more
Scientists Develop Mobile Indoor Disinfection Sprayer

Scientists Develop Mobile Indoor Disinfection Sprayer

Scientists at CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute have developed two mobile indoor Disinfection Sprayer units. These units can be used for cleaning and disinfecting pathogenic micro-organisms effectively, especially in hospitals.

  • News
  • 1.3K
Read more

Internet is huge! Help us find great content

Newsletter

Never miss a thing! Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated.

About

Research Stash is a curated collection of tools and News for S.T.E.M researchers

Have any questions or want to partner with us? Reach us at hello@researchstash.com

Navigation

Submit