Wood filter removes toxic dye from water

Engineers at the University of Maryland have developed a new use for wood: to filter water. Liangbing Hu of the Energy Research Center and his colleagues added nanoparticles to wood, then used it to filter toxic dyes from water.

The team started with a block of linden wood, which they then soaked in palladium – a metal used in cars’ catalytic converters to remove pollutants from the exhaust. In this new filter, the palladium bonds to particles of dye. The wood’s natural channels, that once moved water and nutrients between the leaves and roots, now allow the water to flow past the nanoparticles for efficient removal of the toxic dye particles. The water, tinted with methylene blue, slowly drips through the wood and comes out clear.

The purpose of the study was to analyze wood via an engineering lens. The researchers did not compare the filter to other types of filters; rather, they wanted to prove that wood can be used to remove impurities.

Read more at University of Maryland

Image Credit: University of Maryland

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