banana peels do not serve only to make compost or comedy program: a new research shows that heavy metal contaminants can extract water from rivers. Metals such as lead and copper enter waterways through a variety of sources, including agricultural runoff and industrial waste. Once there, the heavy metals can contaminate soil and pose serious health risks to humans and other species. It is known that lead affects the brain and nervous system.
Traditionally, engineers specializing in water quality have used silica, aluminum oxide, cellulose and water to remove heavy metals, but these strategies are expensive and involve potentially toxic side effects themselves. Function as pumps due to the presence of acids as those found in carboxylic and phenolic groups, attracting metal ions. Bananas, on the other hand, seem to be a safe alternative.
banana peels also have better performance than its competition, says Gustavo Castro, a researcher at the Institute of Biosciences of Botucatu, Brazil, and coauthor of a new study on this use. For the study, Castro and his crew and ground dried banana peels and combined with flasks of water with known metal concentrations. They also developed water filters with the shells and made by running water through them.
In both scenarios, "the metal was removed from the water and was mixed in shells," said Castro, stating that the extraction capacity of banana peels exceeded that of other materials used to remove heavy metals. Previous studies have shown that other plants - including waste apples and sugar cane, coconut fibers and peanut shells - water can remove potential toxins.
home do not
Castro advised to use banana peels for purifying water in homes. For starters, the concentration of heavy metals in tap water is usually negligible. Also, although putting banana skins in contact with water is likely to draw some metals, it is unlikely that the average person to quantify success. According to Castro, the findings of their study will likely be used in industrial environments. The new study is published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
From National Geographic News
Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate
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