Newly created hydrogel tablet can quickly purify contaminated water

A newly created hydrogel tablet could potentially alleviate the global water shortage by quickly purifying contaminated water. The hydrogel tablet, which acts as a water purifier, can disinfect a liter of river water and make it drinkable in an hour or less.

This multifunctional hydrogel tablet is easy to use, highly effective and has the potential to scale to mass production.

People often boil or pasteurize water as the primary means of purifying water. However, the process takes time and energy. Also, it is not possible for people in some parts of the world without the resources to carry out these processes.

The special hydrogels generate hydrogen peroxide to neutralize bacteria with an efficiency of 99.999%. Along with the activated carbon particles, hydrogen peroxide attacks essential cell components of bacteria and disrupts their metabolism.

This process does not require input of energy. It also does not generate harmful by-products. After purification of the water, the hydrogel can be easily removed as it leaves no residue.

Keith Johnston, professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering who co-led the project, said: “A very vigilant graduate student, Young Guo, discovered these hydrogels unexpectedly while doing something else, which is purifying water with sunlight.

One tablet can disinfect a liter of river water and make it drinkable in an hour or less. In addition to water purification, the hydrogel tablet could also improve a process called solar distillation.

Journal reference:

1. Young Guo, Christopher M. Dundas et al. Molecular engineering of hydrogels for rapid water disinfection and sustainable generation of solar steam. DOI: 10.1002 / adma.202102994