From riverbeds to remedy: South African innovators use mushrooms to filter contaminated water

In recent years, there have been numerous reports about the degradation of river systems in South Africa, largely linked to municipalities’ inability to effectively treat wastewater, which has far-reaching implications for human and environmental health. These challenges are the driving force behind the research by Professor Patricks Voua Otomo and Sanele Mnkhandla from the University of the Free State’s research into utilising mushrooms and microfiltration techniques to enhance the quality of contaminated water. In an interview with BizNews, Mnkandla said that they had found they could remove up to 94% of iron and 31% of insecticides from contaminated water with common edible mushrooms. Mnkandla says a TED Talk inspired her to investigate the use of mushrooms to purify contaminated water. The next step would involve designing a pilot plant, and if successful, UFS could collaborate with municipal engineers to scale it further. This method could also be used to purify water farmers use to clean equipment, which often contains pesticides and harmful chemicals, for irrigation systems in farming and for filtering rainwater running off roofs for washing.