Date palm trees are everywhere around us. They are intrinsic to the history of this region and are known for their incredible giving properties. In the past every part of the palm had a tangible use for providing shelter and sustenance.
Yet during the process of date farming large amounts of waste product are generated from the trees. In fact, an estimated 180,000 tons of date palm leaves are generated annually by date palm plantations in the Middle East and also North Africa.
Innovative research from Sultan Qaboos University could hold the answer. SQU researchers have found a new way of putting palm tree waste to good use. They have discovered that extracts from palm date leaves are effective in removing chemicals from the water released from medical institutions, like hospitals and clinics.
SQU researchers are piloting the use of a treatment plant for use as a natural way to treat the contaminated water. To render waste-water sterile before it is released into the sewers system, chemists use dehydrated carbon derived from the waste date palm leaves to aid in the filtration process.
The process involves extracting the carbon from the leaves using sulfuric acid at 170°C through a process known as carbonization. Carbon produced in this manner removes the pharmaceutical chemicals as well as heavy metals making the water safe for irrigation.
SQU principal researcher El-Said El-Shafey explained that this method of removing the chemicals from water was developed over more than a decade of research. Although the team was also successful in producing dehydrated carbon from other kinds of agricultural waste, El Shafey said that the date palm leaves have been more effective than other forms of agricultural waste.
The findings of SQU are a significant step in curbing environmental pollution in treatment plants all over the world. The use of dehydrated carbon from agricultural waste can also help solve the problem of dwindling water supplies by changing treated waste-water into potable water.
By Tempo Research Dept
