One usual first step in the water purification process is to remove impurities in the form of particulates. Aluminium or iron salts are often used for this purpose. Aluminium, in particular, gives rise to serious side effects in humans.
In Africa, alternative purification processes are employed in which the natural extract from the tree Moringa oleifera is used. Studies have shown that very small quantities of the protein from the tree strongly bind to surfaces, a property which causes pollutant particles to coagulate.
At the Scattering Centre and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, a great lot is known about neutron reflection. This is a technique that makes it possible to see the structure and composition of materials bound between liquids and solid surfaces at nanometre (millionths of millimetre) scale.
Uppsala – Gaborone
Adrian Rennie is Professor of neutron scattering. He participates in the research project that has been developed with the University of Botswana which has worked for a long time with naturally occurring materials. The project reveals important properties of protein molecules from the seeds of the Moringa tree.
- It feels encouraging to find that simple interactions between molecules can solve practical problems. Understanding of this process can result in further development in water purification using naturally occurring and environmentally friendly materials, says Adrian Rennie.