Researchers at the University of Adelaide are planning to produce simple, low-cost, self-assembling water purification kits that use the sun to provide fresh drinking water in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
The kits, which make use of sunlight and gravity, are able to produce up to 10 litres per day of safe drinking water. To fund additional research and production of the kits, the team of engineers have launched a crowdfunding project. If they are able to raise $30,000, they will be able to produce 1000 kits. Each $30 kit will be able to provide drinking water for a single family.
"It’s been estimated that 680 million people around the world do not have access to fresh drinking water, and approximately 1.5 million people, predominantly children, die from drinking contaminated water every year," says project leader Dr Cris Birzer, Senior Lecturer in the University’s School of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Humanitarian and Development Solutions Initiative at the University.
The simple water treatment kits were first developed for use in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, which allow people to make their own water purifiers from materials readily at hand. The original kits utilise glass tubing, metallised plastic and sunlight.
While the kits use sunlight, specifically UVA radiation to kill pathogens, in India, the water also contains heavy-metal contaminants, so modifications to the kits are needed to render the water in Rajasthan safe for drinking.
The crowdfunding campaign will raise the money for a team of researchers, including engineers, microbiologists and anthropologists, to visit Rajasthan to engage with local communities and conduct assessments on local water quality, manufacturing capabilities and supply-chains before returning to Adelaide to develop and implement a customised solution.
"Once we know exactly what heavy metals and other contaminants are present, we’ll be able to modify the kit design with, for example, sand filters to remove other contaminants," says Dr Birzer.
The aim is to make simple modifications, such as using the local Indian plant Moringa to remove arsenic from contaminated water.
Once the kits are designed, they will be produced in Rajasthan and distributed to the community through local partners.