Researchers at Flinders University have accidentally discovered a way to remove mercury from water using a material made from industrial waste and orange peel. Synthetic chemist Dr Justin Chalker said, “We take sulphur, which is a by-product of the petroleum industry, and we take limonene, which is the main component of orange oil, so is produced in large quantities by the citrus industry, and we’re able to react them together to form a type of soft red rubber, and what this material does is that it can grab mercury out of the water.”
