“Engineers have invented a new way to remove health-harming ‘forever chemicals’ from water – using 3D printing.
Researchers at the University of Bath say their method, using ceramic-infused lattices (or ‘monoliths’), removes at least 75% of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most common perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), from water, and could become an important tool in future efforts to eliminate the chemicals from water supplies.
Their findings were published this week in The Chemical Engineering Journal.”
[…]
“Testing of the monoliths has surprisingly shown they have become more effective under repeated use – they undergo high-temperature thermal ‘regeneration’ treatment after each use. This is something the researchers are keen to understand more fully with further experimentation.”
3D printing is a broad subject. Covering most materials.
It is just current home printing that is mainly plastics. Because the cost rises with other materials. Plastics allows $200 or more printers.
But it dose not have to stay bad. We are starting to see more and more research into effective plastic replacements. And the expansion of cheap 3d printing can theorectically speed up the distribution of those alternatives.
Believe me I am well aware of that. I just thought the irony too god to stay quiet.