An American researcher looking for a way to sanitise water has invented a ‘drinkable book’ with pages that can be torn out and used as filters.
Theresa Dankovich, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has developed ‘page drinking paper’ - a sheet of paper with silver and copper nanoparticles that kills dangerous microbes living in dirty water. The paper is said to eliminate 99 percent of bacteria living in the dirtiest water.
Dankovich tested her filter papers on 25 different water sources in five countries with success before unveiling the project at the American Chemical Society’s national meeting this week, according to a report in Discover magazine.
Dankovich has made about 50 books, which took over 60 hours for the paper treatment and drying process, and has now teamed up with NGO WATERisLIFE to raise the funds needed to mass produce the books.
About 3.4 million people die each year due to health issues stemming from unsanitary water, according to the World Health Organisation.
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