magnetic
microbe growth

Although magnetic water treatment is established on the free market as an aesthetic and scaling-combating purifier, little is known about its working mechanism, and for the majority of the community it has long been considered charlatanry. Wetsus researchers have successfully begun to change that situation:  Whereas a few years ago, a big step was successfully taken towards understanding the influence of magnetic gradients on calcium carbonate crystallization via Coey’s theory, it had yet to prove its effects on microbial treatments. Now Wetsus researchers figured out that a magnetic field influences the growth of certain bacteria.

Using both a shaking and static setup, the researchers found that magnetic treatment promotes K-strategists over r-strategists better in these limited nutrient environments. These bacteria are part of the natural background flora and, with the help of magnetic fields, can overrule the growth of potential pathogens that usually use an r-strategy – fast growing, sensitive to oxidants.

This method now can give the world a sustainable drinking water treatment – managing microbial communities in a green and accessible way.

Read more:

Liu, X., Pollner, B., Paulitsch-Fuchs, A. H., Fuchs, E. C., Dyer, N. P., Loiskandl, W., & Lass-Flörl, C. (2022). Investigation of the effect of sustainable magnetic treatment on the microbiological communities in drinking water. Environmental Research, 213(113638), 113638. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.113638