A new study conducted by a team of Italian scientists suggests that coffee grounds could help remove lead and mercury from drinking water.

In the past, scientists have found several practical uses for recycled coffee grounds. For example, a 2015 study by the American Chemical Society (ACS) revealed that coffee grounds could make food healthier. Now, a new study led by Despina Fragouli of the Italian Institute of Technology has discovered another significant use for coffee grounds. Fragouli and her co-authors suggest that through a simplified process, coffee grounds from brewing coffee could be used for water remediation.

Like Us on Facebook

Fragouli and her team transformed used espresso coffee grounds into powder and then combined it with sugar and silicon. The resulting solid was then dipped into water, as the sugar slowly dissolves. During the process, a hole is left behind to fit small a block of foam that functions as a filter.

During the process of the experiment, Fragouli and her team discovered that the coffee-infused foam was able to remove 99 percent of mercury and lead from water within a 30-hour filtration process.

In a more practical test, Science Daily reported that coffee grounds could scrub off 67 percent of lead ions in lead-contaminated water.

Lead-contamination is a major health hazard in the United States.

The study by Fragouli and her colleagues has been published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering.

Watch the video below to discover several uses of coffee grounds: