In a breakthrough development, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have designed a device no larger than a mug capable of purifying drinking water when natural disasters strike.
The cube-shaped device is powered by batteries, meaning that when there is no electricity or gas, it can make water safe to drink.
According to the World Bank, approximately 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to services providing regular access to safe drinking water.
As such, the portable invention has the potential to be a game-changer in providing communities with reliable access to clean water.
“When our water infrastructure is down — no water, no gas and no electricity — we need point-of-use devices for cleaning water we can get out of ponds, streams or rivers,” explained D. Emma Fan, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and head of the project, according to a UT press release. “We believe our device can someday fill that need.”
The device uses graphite foam electrodes arranged in a patented ‘branch’ design to purify the water poured inside by creating an electric field that attracts E. coli cells.
After 20 minutes, bacteria and other contaminants would have migrated toward the electrodes, making the water safe for consumption.
“We are able to clean water using very little energy because we steer the bacterial cells with electric fields, and most bacterial cells are natural swimmers who propel themselves to electrodes and got captured alive,” Fan said, according to a UT news release.
Using a prototype built using a 3D printer, the researchers ran a series of tests on water taken from Waller Creek in Austin. They found that the purification device cleaned 99.997% of E. coli bacteria from 2- to 3-ounce samples.
Since it can run for hours on batteries, the device’s energy efficiency makes it a practical solution during power outages.
Moreover, the device is not cost-prohibitive since making an electrode costs less than $2, according to the UT team.
As part of their plans, the researchers aim to commercialize the device and refine the design further. They also seek to simplify the electrode insertion and removal process, making this innovative solution even more user-friendly during times of crisis.
As recently covered in The Dallas Express, an analysis from the Texas Water Development Board revealed in July that nearly 6 million Texans, roughly 20% of the state’s population, reside in regions prone to flooding.
Rising sea levels have heightened this flood risk while also propelling what some scientists say will be increasingly strong hurricanes in the coming decades, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
When Hurricane Harvey struck Texas in 2017, the amount of rainfall — over 50 inches — broke the record for the most rain seen in a single storm within the continental U.S.
