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Development of an advanced multifunctional portable water purifier

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Abstract

A novel approach to fabricate an efficient portable water purification device was tested. The polyacrylonitrile/chitosan (PAN–CTN) and polyacrylonitrile/biochar (PAN–BC) composite membranes were made through electrospinning, and laccase was immobilized on PAN–BC membrane (PAN–BC–LAC). Three layers of composite membrane (PAN–CTN, PAN–BC–LAC, and PAN–BC) were placed in a series for purification of water measured in terms of microorganisms, micropollutants, and turbidity. The system provided around 83% of micropollutant removal, 99% removal of microorganisms, and up to 77% of turbidity reduction within < 5 min of the contact time. This device does not need an energy source for functioning and can prevent using plastic water bottles for activities in remote areas.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are sincerely thankful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant 355254 and Strategic Grants) and Ministère des Relations Internationales du Québec (122523) (coopération Québec-Catalanya 2012–2014) for financial support. INRS-ETE is thanked for providing Mr. Mehrdad Taheran “Bourse d’Excellence” scholarship for his Ph.D. studies. The views or opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRS-ETE, Université du Québec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Quebec, G1K 9A9, Canada

    M. Taheran, P. Kumar, M. Naghdi, S. K. Brar & M. Verma

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, North York, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    S. K. Brar

  3. Département de Physique, Université Laval, Quebec, G1K 7P4, Canada

    E. J. Knystautas

  4. Global Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, P.O. Box 14354, Lenexa, KS, 66285, USA

    R. Y. Surampalli

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  1. M. Taheran
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  2. P. Kumar
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  3. M. Naghdi
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  4. S. K. Brar
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  5. E. J. Knystautas
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  6. M. Verma
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  7. R. Y. Surampalli
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Correspondence to S. K. Brar.

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Taheran, M., Kumar, P., Naghdi, M. et al. Development of an advanced multifunctional portable water purifier. Nanotechnol. Environ. Eng. 4, 7 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41204-019-0054-6

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