A water purification system developed recently by Gustavo Castro and his colleagues from Brazil is actually based on banana peels, with no other complex filters or other electronics involved.
As they discovered, banana peels can filter toxic metals such as lead or copper cheaply, unlike some other technologies that use other toxic substances in the manufacturing process, which are dangerous to both humans and the environment.
The researchers had tried to use plant wastes such as coconut fibers and peanut shells before, and they did succeed, just like with the minced banana. Actually, the minced bananas proved themselves better at filtering copper and lead from water than what the researchers had tried before. They also discovered that the purifier can be used for 11 times without compromising the filtration quality.
Taking into account that the researchers have been funded by the Si£o Paulo Research Foundation, probably the first recipients of this new organic technology will be South American, but cheap filters could also be used in Africa, where the energy is scarce and people get sick or even die by drinking contaminated water.
