In a significant breakthrough from Bardhaman University’s Department of Environmental Science, researchers have successfully demonstrated that onion peels can be used to purify drinking water by removing harmful nitrogen compounds. This is a crucial finding, particularly for areas like Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman in West Bengal, where the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture has led to an increasing concentration of nitrogen in the groundwater.

The Problem of Nitrogen Contamination

The research addresses the growing concern of nitrogen-contaminated drinking water, which poses serious health risks. According to Professor Nabakumar Mondal of the university’s Environmental Science Department, ingesting nitrogen can cause various health issues, especially in children, including ‘Blue Baby Syndrome’. In adults, it can lead to kidney problems as nitrogen mixes with hemoglobin.

The Simple, Low-Cost Solution

The purification method developed by the professors is both simple and cost-effective, making it accessible to rural communities who may not afford expensive water filters.

The process is as follows:

Dry the onion peels thoroughly.

Grind the dried peels into a powder.

Add the onion peel powder to the contaminated drinking water.

Allow the mixture to sit for about one hour. During this time, the dried onion peel effectively adsorbs the nitrogen.

Filter the water to remove the onion peel powder, resulting in nitrogen-free drinking water.

Addressing a New Public Health Concern

The researchers highlighted that while government efforts, such as installing pipelines for tap water, have significantly reduced the older problem of arsenic contamination in districts like Murshidabad, nitrogen is emerging as a new and growing concern. The increasing reliance on nitrogen-based fertilizers in farming across the region is predicted to further escalate nitrogen levels in groundwater, making household water purification a necessity.

The university faculty claim that this simple, homegrown method offers a viable and free way for people, particularly in villages, to purify their water. They stress that mixing onion peel powder with water causes no harm and only requires a little time to ensure the nitrogen is effectively removed. The dry onion peel possesses a high capacity to absorb nitrogen, a property that has been confirmed through tests on water samples from various areas.

Learn more about making a beneficial garden ingredient in this video: Onion Peel Fertilizer. This video is relevant as it discusses the beneficial use of onion peels, an agricultural waste product, in an environmental context.