Delhi-NCR twins build Rs 100 water filter that removes up to 93% of PFAS

What if some of the ingredients sitting in a kitchen cupboard could help tackle pollutants that conventional water filters struggle with? For Delhi-NCR twins Naina and Nayantara Singh, that question became the starting point for a nearly year-long scientific experiment. The Class XII students have developed a plant-based water purification system that uses okra, fenugreek and rice husk to target two increasingly discussed contaminants in water- microplastics and PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals”.The idea, which began as a school-level research project, eventually took the sisters to the biomass laboratory at IIT Delhi, where their prototype was developed and tested under the guidance of professor Vivek Kumar.Their innovation, called Aqua Sattva, is designed around a simple proposition: water purification need not always involve an expensive machine, electricity or complicated plumbing.From concern about groundwater to a science projectThe sisters began working on the idea while they were in Class XI.…