Unexpected reuse of banana peel, revealed that it can be used to purify water contaminated with heavy metals

Banana peels can be used as fertilizer for gardening like other swill, and various unexpected uses have already been discovered, such as polishing leather shoes and silverware to make them glossy, but not only at the household level. Even at the industrial level, banana peels may be perceived as a reusable resource.

Studies by Brazilian chemists have shown that finely chopped minced banana peels are an effective filter for removing heavy metal ions such as lead and copper from polluted river water. increase.

Banana peels get a second life as water purifier --American Chemical Society
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2011/acs-presspac-april-13-2011/banana-peels-get-a-second-life-as-water-purifier. html

Heavy metals such as lead mixed in river water due to mine, agricultural and industrial wastewater, etc. are concerned about the impact on the environment and health hazards to the human body when mixed in drinking water, and various water purification methods have been developed. However, the methods currently used in many water purification plants (such as the method using modified silica ) are expensive, and there are cases where there are concerns about the toxicity of the substance itself that adsorbs heavy metal ions. ..

Under such circumstances, it has become clear in recent years that some vegetable wastes such as coconut fibers and peanut shells are effective for water purification, but Dr. Gustavo Castro and colleagues at UNESP (Paulista State University in São Paulo) and others have bananas. It seems that it was discovered that the water purification method using the skin of São Paulo can quickly adsorb and remove lead and copper from the water of the river, and it has the same or better water purification effect as various water purification methods currently used. is. The paper is published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , published by the American Chemical Society .

In the experiment, a water purifier using minced banana peel can be used repeatedly 11 times without losing its ability to adsorb heavy metal ions, and it is the most efficient way to remove metal ions in an acidic solvent with a pH of 3 or higher. It is expected that it will be put to practical use in the purification of acidic industrial wastewater with a large amount of residual lead and copper. Dr. Castro and colleagues also say that the low cost and the fact that they do not require chemical modification unlike other materials used to adsorb heavy metal ions are also advantages of water purification using banana peel. ..

It may be difficult to collect banana peels that are discarded at home and use them for water purification, but in the near future, banana peels that are discarded in large quantities at food factories will be transported to water purification facilities as they are. May be.