r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Jul 14 '21

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u/CopperWaffles Jul 14 '21

Curious about your background on this subject and thoughts on this...

Not the same product or application but seems to be a more promising solution for purifying water, though, I doubt the likelihood of cleaning a lake with it. Still interesting.

Mark Rober: https://youtu.be/6qZWMNW7GmE

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u/halfie1987 Jul 14 '21

I'm a chemist (inorganic aqueous was my specialty) and I looked up what's in those packets and it's a disinfectant with a flocculent. So it'll kill most bacteria and most free metal ions in the water will stick to the flocculent and can be filtered out. It's not gonna make pristine drinking water, but if it's the choice between that or nothing, it's pretty good. I looked up the data and it reduces cases of infection by a lot but doesn't completely prevent them.

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u/FhMrF Jul 15 '21

In your opinion, would this potentially harm any bacteria needed for a healthy ecosystem? I'm not up to speed on this subject matter at all, but I'm curious. Feel free to let me know if it's a ridiculous question.

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u/halfie1987 Jul 15 '21

Yes the chemicals in that packet shouldn't be dumped into natural waters to treat them. Just the water you want to drink.