WaterDeveloping portable water purifying device for the U.S. military
Providing a reliable source of purified drinking water for the U.S. soldiers in the field is the focus of a research grant at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health. The research aims to develop a portable water treatment device which uses naturally occurring iron in the environment. Researchers say this iron is easily converted to an environmentally friendly chemical compound called ferrate that can be used as a water treatment disinfectant to purify water.
Texas A&M researchers develop new water purifying system // Source: tamhsc.edu
Providing a reliable source of purified drinking water for the U.S. soldiers in the field is the focus of a research grant awarded to Virender K. Sharma, professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health. The Battelle Memorial Institute has awarded a subcontract to the Texas A&M School of Public Health to develop a portable water treatment device using naturally occurring iron in the environment. According to Sharma, this iron is easily converted to an environmentally friendly chemical compound called ferrate that can be used as a water treatment disinfectant to purify water.
“In a matter of minutes polluted water contaminated with pesticides and other toxins can be purified using ferrate without possibly leaving harmful by-products currently left behind with traditional water treatment chemicals, such as free chlorine, choramines and ozone,” says Sharma.
A Texas A&M release reports that a research group led by Sharma is conducting laboratory studies to demonstrate the efficacy of ferrate to remove a wide range of contaminants. Results of the research will contribute to the development of the device. Additional Texas A&M School of Public Health researchers working on the project are Natalie Johnson, Ph.D., Thomas McDonald, Ph.D., and Ranjana Mehta, Ph.D.
Sharma, an environmental chemist, was recently named interim department head of the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at the Texas A&M School of Public Health.
