3 ms·
In this case I think the study is using coffee grounds as raw material to make activated charcoal out of, and then testing its effectiveness in cleaning the wat
by abracadaniel 3y ago
In this case I think the study is using coffee grounds as raw material to make activated charcoal out of, and then testing its effectiveness in cleaning the water. Activated charcoal has a huge surface area and tends to be a good filter as it catches fine particles. But not everything makes a good raw material for activated charcoal for all applications. Seems coffee charcoal did well in this case.
As for the plants, I’m not sure. My pothos never seem to make it very long, so maybe you’re on to something.
- lazide 3y agoActivated charcoal as a filter isn’t just about small pores (mechanical filtering). Being pure (or nearly so) carbon with very high surface area (due to the activation process), it’s great for binding to chemicals which have some kind of reactive carbon chemistry. Which includes most substances/compounds which are worrisome for us carbon based life forms. So anything which is in bulk necessary for us, but which may be contaminated by compounds which are reactive to carbon is a good candidate for activated charcoal filtering. It’s also why eating activated charcoal is an effective treatment for some kinds of oral poisoning. It preferentially/proactively binds to the problematic chemicals neutralizing them. There is a similar (but opposite type of action) reason why prophylactic iodine pills are given out during radiological emergencies - by saturating the iodine receptors in the thyroid with safe iodine, the dangerous radioactive iodine doesn’t have anywhere dangerous to attach to, and it measurably decreases mortality.