www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | FEBRUARY 2018 | 31
Paper power
provides water
quality test
Experts at the University of Bath have created a screen-
printed paper biosensor which can provide a simple,
cheap test for water quality
A
revolutionary microbial-based
paper sensor has been developed
by researchers at the University
of Bath, creating a cheap, sustainable
and recyclable device for detecting toxic
compounds in water.
Inspired by the simplicity of litmus
paper – commonly used for the rapid
assessment of acidity in water – this
innovative technology consists of a micro-
bial fuel cell (MFC), obtained by screen
printing biodegradable carbon electrodes
onto a single piece of paper.
An interdisciplinary team of research-
ers from the University of Bath's Water
Innovation & Research Centre (WIRC @
Bath) and Centre for Sustainable Chemi-
cal Technologies (CSCT) has published
Dr Mirella Di Lorenzo with
the paper sensor
The knowledge: water quality
new findings reporting the proof of con-
cept for a device that, in the near future,
could supply some of the world's poorest
countries with a low cost, simple and
rapid way of testing a water supply.
Access to safe drinking water is one
of the UN's Sustainable Development
Goals, since it is a basic human right and
is crucial to combating inequalities and
reducing poverty. This right is yet to be
achieved in the world's poorest countries,
and one of the reasons for this is the lack
of easily deployable and affordable water
testing tools.
An MFC is a device that uses the natu-
ral biological processes of 'electric' bacte-
ria – attached to the carbon electrodes - to
generate an electric signal. When these
bacteria are exposed to polluted water,
a change in the electric signal occurs,
which can be used as a warning message
that the water is unsafe to drink.
The device has the potential not only
to make water assessment rapid and
cheap – each device is expected to cost
no more than £1 – but it is also environ-
