STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati developed a biological material derived from blue-green algae that can remove lead from contaminated water, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional water treatment methods.
The research team, led by Prof. Debasish Das of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, found that exopolysaccharides (EPS), a sticky sugar-rich substance produced by cyanobacteria, removed up to 66.2 per cent of lead from contaminated water during laboratory experiments. The study also found that the algae naturally altered its chemical composition to enhance lead absorption.
The findings were published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering by Prof. Debasish Das, Prof. Tapas Kumar Mandal and Dr. Abhijeet Mahana. The researchers said they plan to test the material on industrial wastewater containing multiple toxic metals and develop a scalable system for continuous water treatment.
The institute clarified that the research remains at the laboratory stage and requires further validation before any commercial application.
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