MANILA, Philippines-Filipino scientists are now trying to harness solar power to eliminate pesticides in contaminated water.

The Department of Science and Technology's Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) is now embarking on a project to develop a technique dubbed as wastewater detoxification to also help the handicraft industry reduce contamination of water.

ITDI Chief for Environmental Division Dr. Christopher Silverio is now leading a team to develop this technique called ?solar photocatalysis,? which uses solar energy as primary catalyst in removing toxic dyes in water.

Silverio?s team is using a non-toxic chemical called titanium oxide to help break down pollutants in the water.

Silverio explained that solar photocatalysis occurs when a small amount of light-absorbing material, which serves as the photocatalyst, reacts with pollutants without being destroyed itself.

Current photocatalysis technologies use ultraviolet, an electromagnetic light radiation largely given off by the sun.

What the Filipino scientists have develop was a technology that runs wastewater in a clear tube lined with titanium oxide. The tube is then exposed under the sun.

Silverio said that the technology itself is inexpensive and can be applied in areas with wastewater.

Photocatalysis has been used in several industrial applications, including self-cleaning glass, oxidizing organic contaminants and conversion of carbon dioxide.