Low-tech water purification via siphon-biofilter through pine branch or grape vine

Clay Hayes' description: "There are several primitive methods for water purification including surface wells (gypsy well), boiling, and other primitive water filters which utilize some combination of course substrate, plant materials, and charcoal. I recently found a research article from MIT (link below) that showed the xylem tissue of gymnosperms effectively filtered out all bacteria from contaminated water. In this video I set up a filter using those findings but also, using a never before seen method using grape vines as both a siphon and filter in one. A lab analysis confirmed the presence of e. coli bacteria in the water to be filtered. The water that passed through the grape vines had no detectable e. coli bacteria!"




Quick Recap: Cut a 3-4' section of grapevine or 12" branch section of pine/cypress from a healthy non-drought stressed tree/vine, keeping orientation of sap flow in mind. Strip tree bark. Cut width to fit bottle that will be the reservoir for your raw water and tape in place to ensure no seepage. Fill bottle w/raw water and elevate with branches leading down to receptacle for your clean filtered water. Idea from MIT research. Tested to remove e coli. https://news.mit.edu/2021/filters-sapwood-purify-water-0325

This is so cool.  It reminds me of a study that I saw about using yeast pellets to bioo-absorb lead and other heavy metal.