Water is the secret of life, but lots of pollutants has reached our drinking water and polluted it like pesticides, animal wastes, waste agricultural water, sewage, waste water, mines and industrial disposals.
Researchers all around the world have been trying to find ways to purify drinking water. Researchers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University created a planar microfluidic reactor, which consists mainly of a rectangular chamber made up of two facing glass plates, each coated with titanium dioxide (Ti02) – this is the active ingredient in many sunscreens. Tainted water passes between the plates via microchannels, to maximize the surface-to-volume ratio. When exposed to sunlight, the Ti02 releases electrons, which in turn break down contaminants in the water.
The Solaqua water purification device combines photocatalysis with microfluids to break down water contaminants more effectively than photocatalysis alone.