Scientists transform black soot into a boon for water purification

Mains Paper 3: Science & Technology | Achievement of Indians in science & technology

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

Prelims level: Black Carbon Soot

Mains level: Effective treatment of Waste water

A group of Indian scientists have come up with a new process which promises to help utilize black carbon soot, which is a major air pollutant, for treating industrial waste containing highly poisonous organic dyes.

What is Black Carbon Soot?

Soot includes the fine black particles, chiefly composed of carbon, produced by incomplete combustion of coal, oil, wood, or other fuels.
Soot can consist of acids, chemicals, metals, soils, and dust.
It is emitted from gas and diesel engines, coal-fired power plants and other processes that involve burning of fossil fuel. It is known to be highly carcinogenic.
Organic dyes, in turn, are an important component of industrial waste and are generally non-biodegradable and deadly.
They enter water bodies and make them not only unfit for human consumption but also highly poisonous.

What has scientists transformed?

The scientists have converted black soot into graphene nanosheets.
They utilized the nanosheets to remove organic dyes such as crystal violet, rhodamine B, and methylene blue from industrial waste.
Treatment of waste water with organic dyes has remained a major challenge. The available methods are generally costly and cumbersome.
Black soot is available everywhere and even a lay person can convert it into graphene nanosheets at home.
The scientists tested the sustainability and the suitability of the overall process by using the treated water for growing wheat.