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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and Tel Aviv University in Israel have developed a remarkable aerogel adsorbent with the capability to efficiently remove trace pollutants from wastewater. Aerogels, often referred to as "frozen smoke," possess exceptional adsorption properties due to their ultra-lightweight composition primarily consisting of air. These attributes make aerogels ideal for applications involving the removal of contaminants.

The research, led by Professor Rajnish Kumar from IIT Madras, addresses India's significant water pollution challenges, particularly in water-intensive industries such as pharmaceuticals and textiles. India faces the challenge of providing for 18% of the world's population with just 4% of the global water resources, and the textile sector alone discharges nearly ten lakh tons of toxic synthetic dyes annually, posing grave threats to aquatic ecosystems.

The jointly developed graphene-doped silica aerogels (GO-SA) offer versatility in targeting specific contaminants through surface chemistry modification. These aerogels can be regenerated and reused multiple times, reducing waste and operational costs and promoting sustainability in water purification. In real-life conditions, the GO-SA aerogels displayed remarkable efficiency, removing over 85% of pollutants in controlled settings and more than 76% in continuous flow conditions.

This groundbreaking research has the potential to revolutionize large-scale water purification, addressing pressing environmental concerns related to water pollution effectively.