IISER Bhopal develops porous organic polymers for water purification

The major organic micropollutants found in the surface water bodies include various pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and agricultural disposals

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal (IISER-B) researchers have developed organic polymers, which can remove highly polar organic micropollutants (POMs) from water. This process will render the water safe for consumption.

These polymers have already been tested for polar organic micropollutants removal at a laboratory scale. Large-scale fabrication of these materials in collaboration with industrial partners will open up a promising avenue for real-time scavenging of toxic polar organic micropollutants from water.

The major organic micropollutants found in the surface water bodies are various pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, and steroids, among others; Industrial chemicals such as dyes, food additives, endocrine disruptors and plastic precursors, among others; and Agricultural disposals such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, among others.

Dr Abhijit Patra, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, IISER Bhopal, said, “A process called ‘Sorption’ is one of the most energy-efficient techniques to purify water from organic micropollutants. However, commonly-used carbonaceous adsorbents possess several bottlenecks such as slow uptake rate and tedious regeneration process. Therefore, we need efficient adsorbent materials that can not only scavenge highly polar organic micropollutants (POMs) from water rapidly but also can be synthesized easily on a large-scale through simple fabrication techniques.”