Transforming wastewater into drinking water

Although 70% of the earth’s surface is covered in water, only 0.4% of this water is safe to drink. The chemical industry has created filtration techniques to clean waste water and make it safe to drink.

Take Kenya for instance. More than half of the groundwater there contains dangerously high levels of fluoride, which has resulted in an estimated 20 million Kenyans who suffer from teeth and bone fluorosis. The chemical industry has found a solution to remove fluoride from groundwater by developing a special membrane that “blocks” undesired particles. The facility where this filter is applied can produce more than 160,000 litres of purified water per day, serving the local hospital, school, refugee programmes, and broader community.

Associated SDG targets