Does This Paper Sheet Hold the Key to Making Drinking Water Safe in Developing Countries?

Scientists at Uppsala University in Sweden have developed a remarkably simple method of filtering viruses from water to make it safe for drinking. The team, led by researcher Albert Mihranyan, have created a sheet of paper capable of filtering out viruses that other water treatment methods are not able to catch.

The simplicity and affordability of the paper will hopefully mean it can be distributed quickly and easily to all parts of the world, ensuring everyone has access to clean drinking water.

A global problem

At present, approximately 768 million people do not have access to clean drinking water and the fundamentals of healthcare and sanitation. Diseases and viruses transmitted by unsanitary drinking water are one of the biggest killers on the planet, especially in the very young. In fact, around 2,000 children under five years old die on a daily basis from diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation conditions.

Back in 2014, a researcher from Nottingham University came up with an idea to repurpose old refrigerators and freezers in order to generate drinking water, essentially from thin air. The concept was intended to both recycle old and unwanted hardware, whilst simultaneously alleviating the problem of thirst in impoverished and developing regions of the world.

While the idea is an ingenious one in supplying water to those in need, it does not help towns, cities and nations where water is plentiful – but unsafe to drink. As such, filtration, disinfection and purification methods are needed to treat the water.

Purification not always enough

Over the years, scientists have developed a wide variety of ways to purify water, the majority of which use chlorine to disinfect the liquid. While such techniques can be incredibly effective, they can be expensive and require advanced equipment – and often aren’t capable of removing small, stubborn viruses.

The new design by Mihranyan and his team uses multiple layers of very thin cellulose membranes, created from green algae. Its layered composition is reminiscent of the French puff pastry ‘mille-feuille’, after which it has been named (meaning ‘thousand leaves’ in English).

“With a filter material directly from nature, and by using simple production methods, we believe that our filter paper can become the affordable global water filtration solution and help save lives,” explained Mihranyan. “Our goal is to develop a filter paper that can remove even the toughest viruses from water as easily as brewing coffee.”

Developed world can benefit, too

“Safe drinking water is a problem not only in the low-income countries,” said Mihranyan. “Massive viral outbreaks have also occurred in Europe in the past, including Sweden.” Mihranyan was referring to an outbreak of the Norovirus in a Swedish municipality in 2008, when over 2,400 people (nearly 20% of the local populace) were infected.

Because the paper is lightweight, easy to manufacture and cheap, it can be sent around the world quickly and used by everyone, without any specialist knowledge. For these reasons, it has been recognised as a potential solution to water shortages by leading experts in the field. Teri Dankovich, a scientist at Duke University in North Carolina, was not involved in the study but was enthused by its findings, claiming that the invention “shows great potential for affordable water purification in remote areas.”

Now, Mihranyan and his team must work to determine the lifespan of the paper, as well as other key areas of knowledge, before it can safely be used in the field.