Fruit peels can also save human lives.

Fruit peels could be used as fertilizer in a bid to promote environmental awareness around the world. However, the discarded waste could soon take on a new, more important purpose – saving lives.

Research at the National University of Singapore has discovered that tomato and apple peels can be used as membranes to filter polluted water, as this waste can filter out most heavy metals, pesticides and dyes.

Researcher Ramakrishma Mallampati and his research on water purifier using fruit peels (Source: Strait Times)

For example, research over the past two years has shown that the peels of eight tomatoes can remove almost all heavy metal ions such as lead from a liter of water in an hour. This could pave the way for a new, more convenient and cheaper method of purifying clean drinking water for the nearly 800 million people worldwide who still lack access to clean water.

According to researcher Ramakrishna Mallampati, this project is especially important for people in remote areas with limited access to water filtration equipment and in places where groundwater sources are contaminated by industrial pollution.

“There are many products on the market now, but… developing countries cannot afford those expensive technologies,” he said. One popular device is the Lifestraw, a straw-shaped personal water filter that retails for $25.

However, fruit peels are readily available all over the world as a waste product in food processing.

The team is now working with Singapore's water authority to test whether fruit peels can work on a large scale. The results of the trial are expected to be announced next month./.

According to (Vietnam+) - VT