New Polymer Absorbs Mercury From Water

[Thomas II]

Australian researchers have accidentally discovered a way to remove mercury from water using a material made from industrial waste and orange peel.

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/10/20/accidental-discovery-reveals-orange-peel-saves-thousands-lives/

 

[Tom Sawyer]

That's cool, so all we need to do is dump a buch of industrial waste and rotten food into the lakes and rivers and everything will be good.

Go, science!

 

[Malintent]

That's cool, so all we need to do is dump a buch of industrial waste and rotten food into the lakes and rivers and everything will be good.

Go, science!

By "industrial waste" they mean the sulphur produced by oil refinement. It is "waste" in that it is a byproduct... but not a toxic, complex compound... it is just the element sulpher combined with a naturally occurring substance in oranges that apparently sucks up the mercury in water.

I brew beer. My biggest waste byproduct is tepid water. Is water "industrial waste" because of that? I also discard 'spent grain', which is basically cooked and rinsed barley. I make doggy biscuits out of it (mixed with another "industrial waste" called "bacon grease").

 

[Tom Sawyer]

That's cool, so all we need to do is dump a buch of industrial waste and rotten food into the lakes and rivers and everything will be good.

Go, science!

By "industrial waste" they mean the sulphur produced by oil refinement. It is "waste" in that it is a byproduct... but not a toxic, complex compound... it is just the element sulpher combined with a naturally occurring substance in oranges that apparently sucks up the mercury in water.

I brew beer. My biggest waste byproduct is tepid water. Is water "industrial waste" because of that? I also discard 'spent grain', which is basically cooked and rinsed barley. I make doggy biscuits out of it (mixed with another "industrial waste" called "bacon grease").

I don't know if that stuff is waste. Check how much mercury is in your backyard. If it's at non-toxic levels, it means that your industrial waste has cleaned it up.

 

[skepticalbip]

That's cool, so all we need to do is dump a buch of industrial waste and rotten food into the lakes and rivers and everything will be good.

Go, science!

Hell, I have been doing that for years. I didn't know that I was saving the planet.

 

[Valjean]

What do they propose to do with the material once it's saturated?

 

[bilby]

What do they propose to do with the material once it's saturated?

They can just grind it up and flush it down the toilet.