New Perchlorate Method Uses Chemical to Promote Ionic Bonding
According to Central Michigan University, faculty member Anja Mueller has invented a method to filter 300 times more perchlorates from water than typical consumer filters currently on the market. The technology, recently licensed by CMU, is being developed into products that will be easy to install and can be utilized by popular home purification methods.
Ten percent of US drinking water is known to contain perchlorates. Perchlorate is difficult to remove because it is highly soluble and it does not attach to mineral surfaces. Exposure to perchlorates is extremely dangerous to pregnant women, fetuses and infants. It has been linked to the disruption of thyroid hormone, leading to brain development issues and contributing to cancer.
Conventional perchlorate reduction is done by carbon filtration or anion exchange, and NSF certifies reverse osmosis for perchlorate reduction. It is unclear how the new technology will be superior, although a spokesman for the university states, “This technology is so different in what it does to remove contaminates [sic] it’s poised to change the entire water filtration market.”
We’ll see about that.
