Moving towards more methods and solutions to help save the environment and protect it in a sustainable way, a 25-year-old environmental biotechnology engineer, Maricela Granda from Ecuador, has discovered a way to do just that. She’s discovered an incredible way to purify water by simply using banana waste.
While this may seem like a far-fetched solution for ensuring water is clean and safe to consume, studies suggest that it works. The biotechnologist studied the useful properties of banana waste and was inspired to do so since she grew up with the fruit aiding as an important crop in her community. After observing the structures of the waste left behind after bananas are opened, including the pseudostem, which is the trunk part of the banana and the peel, she ran tests on it to learn more about its properties.
Since water in the area was polluted by oil-based chemicals, such as hydrocarbons, which has thus far had a very negative impact on the community’s drinking water, her main goal was to find a way to solve the problem at hand.
How the New Discovery will Benefit Communities
Granda used her knowledge to check whether the banana’s stem can be used to absorb materials that soak up hydrocarbons in water, ultimately removing hydrocarbons from water altogether naturally. Her main idea was focused on making a filter and to install it in houses in the local area, to provide clean water to her community, as well as others that are experiencing similar issues with their drinking water.
High-quality drinking water is of utmost importance, especially for communities in the Amazon and South America, where water scarcity continues to increase year after year. Since water has a direct impact on one’s health, this solution will provide many communities with an affordable and sustainable way to purify their water, not having to worry about the safety thereof ever again.
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