Does Paper Towel Filter Water?

Yes, paper towels can filter water, although their effectiveness varies depending on the application and the type of contaminants.

How Paper Towels Filter Water

Paper towels filter water primarily through:

Physical Barrier: The fibers create a physical barrier that traps larger particles.
Capillary Action: This draws water through the paper, potentially leaving some impurities behind. As stated in the reference, "capillary action in paper towels can be used to separate clean water from mixtures."

While paper towels can filter some things, they are not a comprehensive water filtration solution.

Small Particles: They don't remove very small particles, bacteria, or viruses.
Dissolved Substances: They cannot remove dissolved chemicals, salts, or heavy metals.
Structural Integrity: They can tear easily when wet, compromising the filtration process.

The effectiveness of paper towel filtration can be improved by:

Layering: Using multiple layers of paper towel.
Combining with other materials: For example, the reference mentions that paper towels "when modified with activated carbon can be used to purify water of microscopic impurities, speedily and cost effectively." This combination adds a layer of chemical adsorption to the filtration process.

Here are some applications of paper towel filters, with reference to the provided text:

Emergency Filtration: As a pre-filter to remove larger debris before using a more sophisticated filter.
Cost-Effective Solution: The reference indicates it is a cost-effective solution, noting that it "can clean approximately 130 liters of water in a single day for less than $10".

Feature	Description
Filtration Method	Physical barrier and capillary action
Effectiveness	Good for removing large particles, limited for small particles and dissolved substances
Enhancement	Can be improved with layering and combining with materials like activated carbon
Cost	Low; a very affordable method of filtering water.