National Taiwan University (NTU) researchers yesterday unveiled a water purification device that they said can absorb three times more pollutants than activated carbon and would help industrial plants reuse wastewater.
The deionization device could be used to process industrial wastewater and allow them to reuse the treated water in manufacturing processes, and it could also be used to remove calcium and magnesium in household drinking water to make it taste better, chemical engineering professor Kevin Wu (吳嘉文) told a news conference at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei.
The key to purifying water is to remove heavy metal ions, Wu said, adding that previously used materials had insufficient capacity for absorbing pollutants due to their limited electrical conductivity.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
After experimenting with different materials, the team developed nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon materials, which have larger surface areas allowing for enhanced electrosorption capacity, but their conductivity was still insufficient, he said.
To solve the issue, they embedded gold nanoparticles in the materials and added a highly conductive polymer, resulting in two new materials with higher conductivity and absorption capacity, he said.
The electrosorption capacities of existing activated carbon materials range from 5 to 10mg per gram, while those of their new materials can reach 15mg per gram or more, Wu said.
Additionally, deionization systems using reverse osmosis or electrodialysis techniques usually consume 2 to 8 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per cubic meter of water processed, but theirs only uses 0.1 to 0.5kWh per cubic meter of water, he added.
Hou Chia-hung (侯嘉洪), an associate professor at NTU’s Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, utilized the materials and capacitive deionization techniques to develop the new energy-efficient device.
Although the team still needs one to three more years to make the product commercially viable, some firms have already expressed an interest in their technique, Hou said.
In addition to purifying water, the team also hopes to apply the device to collect rare earths, such as lanthanum and cerium, from water, Wu said.
The research led to the formation of the company Power Pure, whose CEO, Fan Chen-hsuan (范振軒) was a postdoctoral researcher at Hou’s laboratory.
Their findings were detailed in a paper published last year in issue No. 31 of the journal Nanoscale, where it was featured on its cover.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a
RSS