Curious Minds Discover How Plant Tissues Can Save Lives

If you were at the Vijayanagar metro station on 5 January, you would have seen thirty bright-eyed and curious youngsters. Coming from the Government Higher Primary School of Yadalamnagar, Uttarahalli, Vasanthpura and YAS Subramanyapura, they were out for a workshop on water filtration. 

The workshop was facilitated by Krithika Ramchander, a PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Krithika is a researcher who is on a mission to improve access to clean drinking water around the world.

Microbial contamination of water causes diarrheal diseases which can result in death, where children under 5 years of age are considered most vulnerable. She has come up with a method of using plant tissues called xylem for filtration. This is a low-cost and eco-friendly technique that can be used by communities who cannot afford expensive RO and gravity filters. 

At the workshop, she demonstrated how we can use tissues from gymnosperms (non-flowering plants) to build water filters. These filters are capable of removing bacteria and other impurities. 

The students were enthusiastic and shared how they know the importance of drinking safe water for good health. They shared examples of filtration from everyday lives like the way we use cloths to remove impurities and tea strainers to filter tea.  

Krithika explained the concept of transpiration in plants, how water flows from the roots to the xylem and eventually to the rest of the plant. The students saw microscopic images of the xylem, and how its nanoscale pores allow passage of water but stop bacteria and other impurities from getting through. 

For the demonstration, the filter was built using a few simple materials, such as a conifer tree branch, a small pump, and a pipe. The simple apparatus used a small piece of wood to purify turmeric coloured water. When water was pumped through the filer, pure droplets of water began to collect in the transparent jar, capturing everyone’s attention. 

A few students formed groups and built filters with the available materials and tried their hand at filtering water. Through the workshop, the students learned the basics of filtration and how simple everyday objects can be used to create unique solutions to our common challenges. 

This workshop was organized by Science Gallery Bengaluru in partnership with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited and United Ways Bengaluru as a part of their exhibition-season on water called SUBMERGE. 

By Manish Jayashekar, Mediator