Researchers Develop Filter for Clean Drinking Water

We're living in times when a majority of the world's population does not have access to drinking water and the kind that is available is seriously questionable. In such a situation, any kind of development regarding water filtration is a reason to rejoice. 23-year-old Jeremy Nussbaumer, under the guidance of Wendelin Stark, head of the Functional Materials Laboratory, has successfully developed a prototype of a membrane filter that can be fitted on any plastic bottle and filters out all kinds of pollutants in the water.Jeremy, a mechanical engineering student from ETH Zurich said, "It does not require a pump or a reservoir, so it is very easy to use. DrinkPure weighs less than 100 grams and is considerably lighter than most other filters. The flow pressure is so high that you can purify as much as a litre of water in a minute just by squeezing the bottle with your hand."He added, "Another benefit is that the unit is less expensive and easier to manufacture than most conventional filters."

The three-stage filtering processThe three-stage filtering process makes 'DrinkPure' one of the most reliable devices. First, a pre-filter captures large particles such as sand and plant fragments. The second stage consists of an active charcoal powder that removes undesirable odours and chemical contaminants. And lastly, the third and most important part of this membrane removes bacteria.The filter is highly recommended for walkers and travelers as they will be able to quickly screw it on a bottle and take a drink from any pond or river without second thought explained Nussbaumer. It's still not certain that these filters will be available for retail as the team is still on the lookout for funding. However, the first batch will be completed by January 2015 and will be sent to Africa as samples.With inputs from IANS