Russian scientists from MISIS together with their colleagues from Indian universities have developed innovative membranes for complete removal of heavy metals from waste water of industrial enterprises.

According to the press service of the Russian university, a special nanostructure of aluminum oxide modified with zinc made it possible to remove arsenic and lead from water with 87% and 98% efficiency respectively.

Currently, membrane technology is considered one of the most promising ways of purifying and removing heavy metal ions from water. It acts as a filter that separates materials is relatively simple to produce. However, this method consumes a lot of energy, and the membranes themselves last a short time, have low performance and are selective in purification.

Scientists faced the challenge of transforming the membrane technology into a more versatile and commercially available wastewater treatment. For this purpose they synthesised a new type of membrane. The matter concerns especially porous aluminum oxide nanoparticles alloyed with zinc.

Even now, as the experts say, the synthesized membranes show increased hydrophilicity, surface charge and "superporosity". This makes it possible to extract arsenic and lead with high efficiency from the aqueous solution.

Another advantage of the new technology is its "antifouling properties" - the material's resistance to fouling by aqueous microorganisms, which eventually render devices and devices unusable in water.

In the future, the membranes are to be used to purify wastewater from industrial plants and in large municipal water purification plants. At the moment, scientists are testing the samples in a laboratory.

Made in Russia // Made in Russia

Author: Ksenia Gustova