Development of a prototype filter for the selective removal of arsenate from contaminated water supplies

We will identify an industry or sector specialist to act as a consultant to advise the needs within the industrial water treatment and household/consumer sectors and on the route to market.
This primary market research will most importantly bring in views of various stakeholders such as water companies, government organizations, development agencies and NGOs, interested in water quality.
The applicants will work alongside Imperial Innovations, drawing on their networks of contacts, to select an appropriate sector expert.

The potential impact is to provide a novel technology for household and/or water companies that enables to the removal of toxic arsenic from water to concentrations below the limit of 10 ng/ml in a cost effective, energy efficient and user- friendly way.
Currently, water treatment companies simply increase the amount of sorbents (mainly mineral oxides) the water has to pass through. However, this method is increasingly problematic due to space (larger containers are needed, restricting seriously the application to household water devices), to time (the percolation through larger resins is a lengthy process), to regeneration costs (more eluents needed to regenerate the resin) and to replacement intervals (faster saturation leads to increased sorbent exchange and hence larger waste volume). This leads to a significant increase in the cost/benefit ratio.
With the likely decrease of the governmental detection limits for arsenic in potable water, the current method of removing arsenic will become even more unfavorable in future. Leading water companies are now interested in novel technologies that remove arsenic with higher selectivity, thus making our technology timely for the market.