Turn Sunshine into Safe Water

How to Turn Sunshine into Safe Water? Here's a new technology that turns sunlight into safe water. In our daily lives today, we usually don't think too much about the type of water that comes out of our taps. We use it every time we cook, clean and drink but still, we often fail to ponder whether it is truly pure and safe to use. However, such carefree ideas might be different from other parts of the world. There are places on earth where water is scarce because natural supplies are running low coupled with increased demand resulting from population growth.

Scientific Journal

In addition, in 2010, the United Nations reported that more than 2 billion people did not have access to safe, drinkable water for drinking and sanitation, which was basically a very basic need. As a result, 1 million people die every year from water-related diseases and unsafe hygiene. And the increasing demand for water in agriculture and as a source of energy (hydroelectric power), has increased the demand for even more. For this reason, scientists have developed certain technologies that can increase the water crisis using something that is usually owned by these countries - "sunlight".

The scientific journal, Chem, published a study on February 7, 2019, which brought good news and hope when scientists succeeded in finding a way to eliminate nearly 100 percent of disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli in a series of tests about 2.64 gallons or 10 liters of water . To achieve this, they use a photo catalyst in carbon nitride graphite (g-C3N4), which is a material that changes chemically after exposure to light. This amount of water might be enough to meet the daily water requirements for four healthy adult men.

Using Photocatalysts

Similar to the principle of attracting metals, these thin sheets attract electrons which instead form compounds in the presence of oxygen. One of these compounds is hydrogen peroxide which removes harmful bacteria from the water. Although the idea of  using photocatalysts may not be new, it allows a faster elimination process and restrains the use of metals that can add pollutants to water used from previous studies.

Large-scale, gradual refining has been carried out to accelerate and encourage additional means of clean water supply to increase demand from the growing human population. It's time to realize our big vision of clean and safe water for everyone - including future generations.