Plant-Based Water Filters could Transform Water Treatment
Researchers from the University of Minnesota are working on a promising new method that could remove microplastics and PFAS from residential water sources thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Water Research Fund (MWRF). UMN Assistant Professor Boya Xiong and PhD student Ji Qin are leading the project. Qin’s research focuses on membrane technologies for water treatment, with a focus on designing water filters from plant-based materials to remove contaminants from drinking water. Xiong and Qin took a moment from their work to share insights with MDH Drinking Water Protection (DWP) about their research and its potential benefit to transform how we treat water contamination on a larger scale.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
DWP: What are you trying to find out with this research?
Xiong: The research question would be how to develop and modify the plant-based material using the new technology we're developing so that we can achieve the efficient removal of microplastics and PFAS while having the filter adapt to different water qualities and many different end-user scenarios.
DWP: How did you get involved in this research?
Xiong: The current technology of treating the most-prevalent pollutants- PFAS and microplastics falls short because it’s very difficult to control so many different pollutants at once. Treatments such as activated carbon filters or reverse osmosis membranes that work in water treatment plants fall short in treating and mitigating these pollutants in the household, or are too expensive to be affordable for all income level households. So, we're trying to develop technology that can handle all these different contaminants while reducing the treatment cost, including legacy contaminants (like crypto and bacteria), all at the same time. We want to solve the most pressing environmental problems in our water quality by focusing on the most important, harmful, and prevalent pollutants: PFAS, microplastics, and pathogens. Qin: As a membrane scientist, I always cared about water and sustainability. During my PhD in Professor Xiong's lab, I started exploring the natural materials we mentioned. I hoped that [we] could help solve the real-world environmental problems. And during this time, I realized that we could use these renewable resources from wood and plant proteins to design new water filters that can be both effective and environmentally friendly.
DWP: What brought you to this place in your research?
Xiong: In addition to pathogens as our legacy contaminants, these two pollutants, PFAS and microplastics, present new challenges to the field of environmental engineering as we try to mitigate and control them. Our responsibility, our mission as environmental engineers, is to protect water and public health by protecting the water quality. I’m very passionate about removing these contaminants from our drinking water.
DWP: How did the Minnesota Water Research Fund support help your project move forward?
Xiong: We were very excited to get the funding from the Water Research Fund. We really think there's a lot of potential to use this technology to remove PFAS and microplastics in our water systems, and we're really excited about the opportunity and the funding to be able to expand that.
DWP: How does this research expand our knowledge of treatment for larger scale treatment facilities?
Xiong: One of our goals is to translate the research findings into how we can better treat microplastics and PFAS in other treatment processes. I think facility operators can be excited about the fundamental knowledge we're creating about how PFAS interacts with our materials, how microplastics interact with our materials, the removal and capture mechanisms. All the efficiencies and insights will be valuable for municipal plants to operate and optimize their existing technologies, like coagulation and filtration systems--the fundamental knowledge that is part of Qin’s PhD research can be used and applied to larger systems.
DWP: What does the future look like for this project?
Xiong: In the state of Minnesota, the bio-economy, sourcing and developing products from biorenewable resources, is really important, and I think the state is trying to make it stronger, make it more robust. We have a lot of wood waste in northern Minnesota. So, we're hoping our solution is a promising technology to augment the economy by raising the value of wood waste in addition to protecting water quality.
About the Minnesota Water Research Fund
The Minnesota Water Research Fund provides research support for faculty and students of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering working in water resources management and water treatment. Research advances generated in the laboratory with the help of funding from MWRF help guide critical water infrastructure decisions and investments across the state of Minnesota, particularly in those small communities where funds for water research, training, and education are scarce.
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