Trapped Sunlight Cleans Water
Date: 18.1.2011
High energy costs are one drawback of making clean water from waste effluents.
According to an article in the journal Biomicrofluidics, which is published by the American Institute of Physics, a new system that combines two different technologies proposes to break down contaminants using the cheapest possible energy source, sunlight. Microfluidics -- transporting water through tiny channels -- and photocatalysis -- using light to break down impurities -- come together in the science of optofluidics.
The researchers fabricated a planar microfluidic reactor, or microreactor, which is essentially a rectangular chamber made of two glass plates coated with titanium dioxide, the active ingredient in many sunscreen lotions. On exposure to sunlight, the coating releases electrons that react with contaminants in the water and break them down into harmless substances.
Original Paper:
Lei Lei, Ning Wang, X. M. Zhang, Qidong Tai, Din Ping Tsai, Helen L. W. Chan. Optofluidic planar reactors for photocatalytic water treatment using solar energy. Biomicrofluidics, 2010; 4 (4): 043004 DOI: 10.1063/1.3491471
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110111132519.htm
