Water Filtration Using Plant Xylem
Author(s)
Boutilier, Michael Stephen Ha; Chambers, Valerie A.; Venkatesh, Varsha; Karnik, Rohit; Lee, Jongho, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Effective point-of-use devices for providing safe drinking water are urgently needed to reduce the global burden of waterborne disease. Here we show that plant xylem from the sapwood of coniferous trees – a readily available, inexpensive, biodegradable, and disposable material – can remove bacteria from water by simple pressure-driven filtration. Approximately 3 cm3 of sapwood can filter water at the rate of several liters per day, sufficient to meet the clean drinking water needs of one person. The results demonstrate the potential of plant xylem to address the need for pathogen-free drinking water in developing countries and resource-limited settings.
Date issued
2014-02Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Materials Science and Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical EngineeringJournal
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Citation
Boutilier, Michael S. H., Jongho Lee, Valerie Chambers, Varsha Venkatesh, and Rohit Karnik. “Water Filtration Using Plant Xylem.” Edited by Zhi Zhou. PLoS ONE 9, no. 2 (February 26, 2014): e89934.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1932-6203