11 September 2008:
As the
nation’s water resources run low, a new technology for
detecting toxic heavy metals in water has opened the way for safer
use of groundwater and recycling.
In a
breakthrough for water safety, Dr Erica Ji and Dr Zuliang Chen of
CRC CARE and the University of South Australia have developed an
ultra-sensitive technique for detecting the toxic metals lead and
cadmium in water.
This
technology, for which CRC CARE has filed a provisional patent
application, equips a special electrode with a novel chemical film
that selectively seeks out lead or/and cadmium ions.
‘The
electrode provides lower detection limits and higher selectivity
for lead and cadmium ions’, Dr Chen says.
‘It
means that we now have a much more efficient way of detecting and
tracking contamination.’
According
to co-researcher Dr Erica Ji, one of the advantages of a
chemical-based system like this is that it is very quick.
‘You
get a result in a few minutes, whereas taking samples back to a lab
for analysis can take days’, Dr Ji says.
‘It
offers the possibility of a real-time early warning system to
report when toxins have entered the water supply.’
Dr Ji says
that the new electrodes have so far been tested in the lab, and
shown to have a very high sensitivity of measurement.
However,
more research is needed to ensure their special coatings are robust
enough for continuing use in the field.
CRC CARE
managing director Professor Ravi Naidu says that as
Australia’s water supplies become increasingly stretched, the
pressure to use all our resources, including groundwater and
recycled water, will rise inexorably.
‘As
it does, water safety from chemical contamination, both natural and
man-made, will become an even bigger issue than it is now. We know
from the terrible example of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh and
India that a polluted water supply can potentially affect tens of
millions of people – and we must use the best technologies to
ensure such things never occur here.’
‘Many water resources are polluted by naturally-occurring
heavy metals or from mining, but our city effluent is also
contaminated by discharge from factories and industrial activities
which can make it unsuitable for recycling.’
‘This technology offers the water industry a very promising
way to test for, and potentially exclude, certain natural and
industrial pollutants from drinking water supplies.’
Prof.
Naidu said that the originality of the research had been confirmed
in the filing of a provisional patent for the technology, the
second that the Adelaide-based CRC CARE has filed this year.
Contact:
Professor Ravi Naidu, Managing
Director CRC CARE - (08) 8302 5041, 0407 720 257 (available
11-12 Sept)
Peter Martin, Communication
Manager, CRC CARE - (08) 8302 3933, 0429 779 228
