Water scientists from Australia and China have proposed a more effective method of removing organic pesticides from drinking water, reducing the risk of contamination and potential health problems. With a global increase of 62 percent in pesticide use over the past two decades, concerns have escalated regarding the presence of these chemicals in water sources, potentially leading to health issues such as cancer.

The current method of using powdered activated carbon (PAC) to eliminate organic pesticides from drinking water is deemed costly, time-consuming, and not entirely efficient. Professor Jinming Duan, a water researcher at the University of South Australia, in collaboration with Dr. Wei Li from Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, along with Chinese colleagues, conducted a series of experiments to enhance this process.

Through their research, the team discovered that by reducing the size of PAC particles from the standard 38 μm to six μm, they were able to achieve a 75 percent reduction in the amount of powder required to eliminate six common pesticides. This advancement not only leads to substantial cost savings in water treatment but also ensures that the larger PAC particles can be filtered out post-adsorption, preventing their presence in the treated drinking water.