New York researchers use copper and hydrogen peroxide to clean water

Researchers at Dowling College, Cornell University, and Polytechnic University (all in New York), have made an important breakthrough in water purification and treatment. Working with a National Science Foundation grant, the scientists have developed a system that eliminated 100 percent of microbes (in this case from water left from Hurricane Katrina) using specialized resins, copper, and hydrogen peroxide. However, although succesful in cleaning the water, future efforts will be needed to ensure that the water is drinkable. In the meantime, the researchers are satisfied knowing that their efforts can do much to clean up disaster sites and help reduce the transmission of disease. “We need to develop a treatment for decontaminating flood water before it either comes in contact with humans or is pumped into natural reservoirs,” said one of the researchers.

To develop their process, the researchers built upon a century-old chemical mechanism called the Fenton reaction — a process wherein metal catalysts cause hydrogen peroxide to produce large numbers of free radicals. The treatment system is simple: a polymer sheet of resins containing copper is immersed in the contaminated flood water. The addition of hydrogen peroxide generates free radicals on the polymer. Bound to the sheet, the free radicals come in contact with bacteria and kill them. Two obstacles remain: reducing the amount of copper in the treated water and improving the system’s impact on chemical toxins. If things go well, the system could be ready for emergency use within five to seven years.

-read more in this National Science Foundation news release