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SUMMARY:Using sunlight-activated photo-catalysts to disinfect water - Dr V
 asant Kumar
DTSTART:20130909T150000Z
DTEND:20130909T160000Z
UID:TALK45501@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Nalin Patel
DESCRIPTION:An informal discussion hosted by Dr Vasant Kumar on a new meth
 od to disinfect water at low cost with no power. Dr Kumar is is at the Dep
 artment of Materials and Metallurgy\, he has a number of research interest
 s including recycling and sustainability.\n\nAbstract:\nSunlight can degra
 de pollutants in water and atmosphere with a suitable photo-catalyst. A nu
 mber of current technologies are on offer\, with the most common catalyst 
 being titanium dioxide particles or coatings. These have the advantage of 
 working with sunlight\, with no need for an external power source\, so the
  pollutant removal can take place off-grid and is cheap to operate. Howeve
 r\, the currently-available catalysts only exploit the ultraviolet part of
  the spectrum\, resulting in a slow degradation process which is slowed fu
 rther by cloudy weather conditions.\n\nDr Kumar and co-workers from the De
 partment of Materials Science & Metallurgy have developed a new sunlight-a
 ctivated catalyst which is active in the visible range of the spectrum. Th
 e reaction speed is 1 – 2 orders of magnitude as fast as that of catalys
 ts like titanium dioxide\, since more of the sunlight's energy is used. It
  can also work in low light conditions including cloudy weather and indoor
 s (using ambient sunlight and/or artificial light).\n\nThis new patented p
 hoto-catalyst potentially has a wide range of uses for water purification 
 and atmospheric hazard / pollutant removal. Some examples include the mark
 et for textile dyes\, where 0.7 million tons of dyes are produced every ye
 ar worldwide\, with 10% being released in the effluents\; purification of 
 drinking water without the need for a power source or replacement filters\
 ; systems for hazard destruction in crowded centres\; and a low cost\, zer
 o power solution for the purification of air inside buildings.\n
LOCATION:TCM Seminar room\, 530 Mott
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