IIT Delhi researchers develop sensor for real-time water quality monitoring

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, have developed a sensor for real-time water quality monitoring using electricity-generating microorganisms, said officials. Known as “electroactive microorganisms”, these microbes generate an electrical current and are widely researched for power generation but can also be used for biosensing. Specifically, the bioelectrochemical sensor that was developed uses “weak electricigens”, a category of electroactive microbes that are known for generating low levels of electricity, the officials said.

When the weak electricigens encounter a pollutant, their current output decreases. By measuring their extracellular current continuously, the approach facilitates real-time monitoring of water quality, they added.

“Such technology could act as an early-warning system to be used in tandem with conventional monitoring methods that can be expensive or not amenable to 24 X 7 operation,” said Lucinda Elizabeth Doyle, Assistant Professor at the Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT Delhi. “The sensor responded to a number of pesticides and could be used repeatedly for long-term monitoring, a crucial feature for areas frequently exposed to water contamination,” she added.

The assistant professor said that such technology may also be useful in the future “for detecting emerging contaminants that are not typically covered in routine tests”.

“Many natural environments appear to host weak electricigens, raising possibility of future on-site sensors as well as easy incorporation into existing monitoring stations,” said Doyle.

“The findings have relevance to the widespread adoption of water quality monitoring that will be required to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of sufficient water and sanitation by 2030,” she added.

The research paper titled “A Weak Electricigen-Based Bioelectrochemical Sensor for Real-Time Monitoring of Chemical Pollutants in Water” has been published in “Applied Bio Materials”, a journal published by the American Chemical Society.