Magnetic Nanoclay for Advanced Water Purification

Safe and clean drinking water is essential for every human being. However, clean water is sometimes scarce and not readily available due to pollutant activity or runoff from natural geochemical processes. One recent example is microplastic particles entering the food chain and even into the human brain. Another recent example is the situation in Ukraine with destruction of dams and water reservoars due to the war. To have safe drinking water from the tap in the home is of vital importance world wide. One way to clean impure water in a water pipe before the faucet is to insert a unit with a continous purification ability enabled by: - Injecting nanoclay particles with large surface area particles to adsorb impurities - Attaching magnetic nanoparticles - Removal of the magnetized nanoparticles using a forceful magnet - Return of the cleaned magnetized nanoparticles to the injection point The project will be carried out by: Project admistrator, Skjeltorp in collaboration with: 1. Prof. Josef Breu and team at University of Bayreuth, Germany, synthesizing nanoclay particles 2. Prof. Koiti Araki and team at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, decorating th clay nanoparticles with magnetic nanoparticles 3. Dr. Harald Vestøl, constructing and assembling a prototype for insertion in a water pipe. Preliminary experiments have been reported at the MRS meeting in Boston in 2021.