Filtering fluoride out of drinking water
Too much fluoride in our drinking water can cause fluorosis, the hardening of the teeth and bones. Professor Raffaele Mezzenga and his team have developed a new membrane, which efficiently removes the harmful fluoride from water.
Fluoride contamination can be man-made, but the substance also occurs naturally. Concentrations are particularly high in regions with volcanic activity. While a small amount of fluoride can prevent tooth decay, higher concentrations can cause fluorosis or even fluoride poisoning. Raffaele Mezzenga, Sreenath Bolisetty and Qingrui Zhang have developed a charcoal filter with whey protein and atoxic zirconium oxide nanoparticles. This new hybrid material removes fluoride from drinking water efficiently and economically.
ETH Zurich has filed the fluoride filter for a patent and selected it as the most promising invention of the year, for which the inventors received the Spark Award.
Contact / Links:
Laboratory of Food and Soft Materials, Prof. Raffaele Mezzenga
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