Ever wonder what to do with that banana peel after you’re done eating the banana? Most people toss it in the trash; or if you’re trying to help the environment you would put it in your compost pile. But scientists have discovered a new purpose for this seemingly useless food scrap. According to National Geographic, researchers have shown that they can pull heavy metal contamination from river water using banana peels.
Metals such as lead and copper are introduced to waterways from agricultural runoff and industrial wastes, amongst other sources. Once there, heavy metals can contaminate soils and pose health risks to humans and animals. The current materials used to remove the metals have potentially toxic side effects. Bananas, on the other hand, appear to be a safe and natural solution.
For their study, the research team dried and ground banana peels, then combined them in flasks of water with known concentrations of metals. They also built water filters out of peels and pushed water through them. In both scenarios, “the metal was removed from the water and remained bonded to the banana peels.” Furthermore, the extraction capacity of banana peels exceeded that of other materials used to remove heavy metals.
Previous work has shown that other plant parts—including apple and sugar cane wastes, coconut fibers, and peanut shells—can also remove potential toxins from water.
The new study appears in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
What about you: Do you think this is a good method for removing contamination? Do you see any potential problems with using food/natural materials for water remediation?
Very interesting post. It's pretty crazy to see how many synthetic things could be replaced by things organic ones. I'm curious exactly how effective it would be and how exactly they would put it into practice.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, how do you feel about actually eating the peel? I know it sounds pretty gross, but while reading the New York Times I came across an article on a billionaire who wants to live to 125. He actually eats the peels among other crazy plants in a smoothy that he drinks daily.
Check out the article if you're interested:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/magazine/06murdock-t.html?_r=1
It's very thought provoking.
According to the research, the banana peel remediation is more effective than current materials. They'd probably use similar methods to what they use now --some type of filtration-- with the peels (probably ground up) made into a filter material.
ReplyDeleteAt first thought, I'd say NO WAY would I eat banana peels. When it comes to food, I'm a texture person and I think the peel would have an odd texture. But then I looked at the article and it says he pulverizes them in a blender -- I think I could do that and mix it in with something else.
That's really awesome! I love creative ways to use nature to solve man made problems in nature. Haha.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, I'd have to be feeling pretty brave to have banana peels by themselves. I consider myself to be more of a texture person as well. But blended into a smoothy with other fruits and veggies, it would probably a lot more manageable. Still though, something seems a little strange about it. I will probably try it one day when I'm feeling extra courageous. :)