Green Liver – How plants help clean our water

Bild mit Pflanzen, die Schadstoffe aus dem Wasser aufnehmen

The exhibition showed the effects of water pollution worldwide and the process called the “Green Liver” with which bodies of water can be treated sustainably.

Questions and content

Worldwide pollution, poverty, dwindling water supply and modern wastewater disposal as well as the privatization of resources have catastrophic effects for waterways, aquifers and thus the entire water supply, above all in developing countries.

The “Green Liver” is a process for cleaning water ecologically; it’s a local approach to the problem, which protects this precious resource. This process has been developed by the Department of Environmental Effects Research and Ecotoxicology at the TU. It functions on a basic ecological principle: Certain plants have the ability to uptake pollutants from water, then either break them down or deposit them in the plant’s own cells. These plants are used to free bodies of water from toxic substances sustainably.

In cooperation with the Berlin Technical University, the Berlin Waterworks Museum and has dedicated an exhibition to this topic. In addition to presenting the ecosystem’s vitally important functions and the causes of water pollution, the exhibition showed concrete examples of the Green Liver system in China, South Korea, Brazil and Bolivia and their encouraging results.

Use and Target Audience

The exhibition presented this topic for the general public, thus contributed to environmental education and understanding applied science. Special children’s workshops addressed young visitors as well.

Support from the Hybrid Plattform

Partner contact and public relations.