Food thickener removes heavy metals from water

A gum membrane made from the seeds of the local konkoli plant – often used as a food thickener – can help remove heavy metals from water. Chemists from Nigeria’s Federal University of Technology say this could be used to clean industrial waste from ore smelting and metal refining.

Osemeahon, S. A., Barminas, J. T, Aliyu, B. A and Nkafamiya, I. I. (2008). Application of grafted membranes for sorption of Cd2+, Fe2+ and Zn2+ ions in aqueous solution. African journal of pure and applied chemistry ; vol. 2, no. 3 ; p. 032-036. Full text