Students designed a low-cost filter to remove lead from tap water

Not in every part of the world the water supplied to apartments and houses by water supply is completely healthy and free of harmful compounds, but in most cases it is very easy to clean it. This is confirmed by the fact that high school students in the USA have designed a low-cost filter to remove lead from tap water.

A low-cost filter was developed to remove lead from tap water. The plan is to mass-produce it and sell it for $ 1 apiece

The sight of brown water running off the faucet inspired Rebecca Bushway, a science teacher in Barrie Middle and Upper School w Silver Spring in Maryland to challenge its students. It sounded simple – can you invent an inexpensive filter that can remove lead from water? The question was raised in times of a pandemic and remote lessons, so the first prototype was made last spring, when students returned to class and printed a prototype made of biodegradable plastic.

The filter is 76 mm long and takes the form of a module that screws into the faucet, and inside it is a mixture of powdered calcium phosphate and potassium iodide, contained in a series of hexagonal structures through which the water flows in a spiral downward direction. In practice, lead combines with calcium phosphate to form lead phosphate and calcium, which break the nylon screen at the bottom of the filter. This traps lead phosphate, which is an inert solid, and releases calcium, which is harmless for consumption (see the American Chemical Society publication for more).

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When the calcium phosphate is completely consumed, the water will turn yellow and thus give a direct visual signal to owners that it is time to replace the filter. Plans to sell the filter for $ 1 include a more advanced wear indication technology that will include a miniature spectrophotometer and an LED light on the bottom.