Cheap and effective water filter - Pine
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:30 pmhttp://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0089934;jsessionid=CA64751E06B0751293DAA9ED22EE02D7
Effective point-of-use devices for providing safe drinking water are urgently needed to reduce the global burden of waterborne disease. Here we show that plant xylem from the sapwood of coniferous trees – a readily available, inexpensive, biodegradable, and disposable material – can remove bacteria from water by simple pressure-driven filtration. Approximately 3 cm^3 of sapwood can filter water at the rate of several liters per day, sufficient to meet the clean drinking water needs of one person.