Environmentally friendly + affordable: Coconut Shells for Water Purification
ll over the world, humanity is getting more and more conscious about a healthy environment. Most important is clean water for every being on earth, especially when it comes to drinking water, which is the base of our living in general. We need to protect our water resources and take care that everyone has access to clean water. This includes an ecofriendly water purification.
There is a very simple and efficient technology to get clean water: active carbon filter made from coconut shells for water purification. The filter doesn’t cost much and can be easy available for everyone.
It couldn't be more environmentally friendly: Coconut Shells for Water Purification
Plant products are highly valued as renewable natural materials. Not only they are biodegradable, but help to reduce the proportion of non-renewable, environmentally substances. Especially in industrial cleanup of water, lots of harmful chemicals are used. It is really a great fortune that an old and may be ancient technique has been rediscovered to purify water in an organic way: Activated carbon filters, which can be produced from
coconut shells on a large scale. Actually they are a waste product. In countries like the Philippines and India, the world’s largest coconut producers, large quantities of coconut shells are thrown away. What could be better than to reuse and recycle them for a higher purpose as industrially and household water filters.
By the way, activated carbon filters can be also produced from hard coal, lignite, and wood. Unlike coconuts, the extraction of these raw materials is labor-intensive and also causes massive environmental damage.
The Benefits: Coconut Shells for Water Purification
A key advantage of coconut shells is their microporous structure, which makes them an ideal starting material for activated carbon. This structure enables highly effective absorption of contaminants such as drug residues, hormones, solvents, pesticides, heavy metals, chlorine, and odors from water. This significantly improves water quality without the loss of important minerals. Activated carbon filters from coconut shells are also very durable.
Coconut Shells for Water Purification: Production of Activated Carbon Filters
First the coconut shells are collected and cleaned, then carbonized at high temperatures in furnaces. This step is crucial, because it forms the basis for the porous structure of the activated carbon. The carbonized shells are then activated by steam, creating millions of tiny pores. These pores give the activated carbon filters its exceptional absorption capacity.
Coconut shells for water purification at home and To-Go
From now on, we can produce high-quality contaminant-free water for home and on the go as well. For this purpose we use water filter equipped with appropriate water filter cartridges. Inside the cartridge is a sintered activated carbon block made from coconut shells. This activated carbon has a huge internal surface area. About 4g of the carbon ash corresponds to the area of a football field. The lifespan of such a cartridge is approximately 3-6 months, depending on the water quality. The end result is clean, delicious, and filtered drinking water.
Such filters are available in various designs. They are available as drinking water filters, camping filters for RVs and boats, and shower filters. There are different connections for the water filter: either directly on the faucet or as an under-sink filter. The quickest and easiest solution is a jug water filter from Brita – BRITA® Marella – or a table water filter from Lotus Vita.
The German company Alb offers powerful faucet, under-sink and shower filters and exports its products worldwide. UrQuelle offers reverse osmosis systems for under-sink use. The water is passed through various filter cartridges and is additionally energized to produce living water.
For the sake of the environment, these water filters are a truly excellent alternative to plastic water bottles. They not only reduce plastic waste but also save our back, as there is no need to carry bottles.
Photo Pexels by Tom Fisk
Coconut shells for water purification: A rethink in the industry has begun
Companies seeking to improve their environmental footprint are already using activated carbon filters made from coconut shells for water purification. Large water suppliers and specialized filter manufacturers around the world are already using them. One of them is the WSW Energie & Wasser AG in Wuppertal, Germany, which is now gradually converting its waterworks from coal-based to coconut shell-based activated carbon.
Even massive water plants, which produce drinking water in big cities, public swimming pools and the food and beverage industry are using them to clean the water and to improve the quality.
This natural form of water purification is currently conquering the world. Activated carbon filters made from coconut shells are used both industrially and increasingly also in private households. For our NEW EARTH we must ensure, that these water filters are available and affordable for everyone all over the world.
