Heavy metals 'meet their match'

Researchers say newly developed filter, which removes more than 99 percent of heavy metal toxins from water, shows potential for water remediation in developing nations around the world.

The project, developed in collaboration between Swansea University and Rice University, has won both national and international awards

Carbon nanotubes immobilized in a tuft of quartz fiber have the power to remove toxic heavy metals from water, according to researchers at the Energy Safety Research Institute at Swansea University in collaboration with researchers at Rice University.

The researchers calculated one gram of the material could treat 83,000 litres of contaminated water to meet World Health Organisation standards, enough for supply the daily needs of 11,000 people.

The lab's analysis of the new filters appears this month in Nature's open-access Scientific Reports.