"It is "used", but never as the soul component, and typically in powdered or even atomized form. It also only bonds with a limited number of chemical compounds, and does nothing to remove methanol, ethanol, arsenic, lithium, iron, cyanide, most acids, most alkali materials, most dissolved hard minerals, and many other inorganic compounds. Sticking a burnt stick in the water also does nothing for biological contamination to my knowledge. It has been shown to be effective in absorbing aqueous lead, chlorine, some VOC's and possibly mercury, so there is that.  It sure is trendy for hipsters though."

"This is aesthetically fine, but you can't "purify" water by just sticking a stick of burnt wood in it. It fells like another example of designers with no scientific or engineering background making claims they aren't qualified to make.  Also, is it "glass", or "glass like"?"

"Sapele is a IUCN (International Union for the Conversation of Nature) listed Vulnerable species and is on the Red List of Threatened Species. I know most designers don't actually care about any of that, but if you can help it...think twice.  In the United States, it may even be ILLEGAL to import Sapele because of the Lacey Act as it is often illegally harvested. from the iucn: "The Sapele, Entandrophragma cylindricum, is a species of mahogany listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It ranges widely in west and central Africa from Sierra Leone east to Uganda and south to Angola, and has a scattered distribution in semi-deciduous forests. In comparison with other species of Entandrophragma, this species can occur in drier habitats, including abandoned fields, but it does not respond well to burning. It is a large tree, growing to 50m in height, with flowers growing directly from the trunk and major branches.It is an extremely slow-growing tree, one of the slowest in the genus Entandrophragma, and this is a major problem as it is of high economic value and is a major source of African hardwood, heavily exploited throughout its range. In some places, populations have been heavily depleted due to over-exploitation. The species is also believed to be at risk from climate change.The Sapele occurs in a number of protected areas across its range. In some countries, logging of this species is subject to legal restrictions, but enforcement is a problem in many regions. "http://support.iucnredlist.org/species/sapele"

"How suburban. I would hate to be a pedestrian or cyclist anywhere near this thing. "

"What is this "film" you speak of and why would it need to be developed?"