System saves water and lives through recycling excess liquid

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Water shortages will become ever more common around the world soon, with pollution, harsh weather, and growing populations all taking their toll. Springwise has already highlighted innovations seeking to alleviate such issues. This media partnership is working to clean British waterways and a prototype could turn snow into safe drinking water. Now a clever system could simultaneously reduce water waste and help save lives through encouraging practice of basic hygiene.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that four million people die from diseases that are often easily preventable through basic hygiene. Those in developing countries often lack the means to employ such practices, therefore leaving them vulnerable to diarrhoeal diseases or respiratory infections.

Research from group of environmental engineers led by  Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETH) Professor Eberhard Morgenroth has revealed a means of using greywater for washing hands. Greywater is relatively clean wastewater from showering, bathing or handwashing. It is not classified as clean enough for use as drinking or sanitation water. It therefore often goes to waste. In recycling it to use in grid-free hand-washing systems, the researchers have devised a way to improve hygiene in developing areas without putting further strain on precious water resources. Their work is a part of the Blue Diversion Autarky project. Their system of ultrafiltration involved adding certain nutrients to the water to make it safe enough for use for hand-washing. Any traces of organic matter remaining in the wastewater pass through an activated carbon filter. An electrolytic cell then produces chlorine from dissolved salt, so as to disinfect the water during storage.

Takeaway: Developing countries often lack modern infrastructure, yet the plus side of that is that unique and innovative systems such as this can be implemented relatively easily. There is no existing infrastructure to adapt to, allowing them to take advantage of the low-cost technology available nowadays. What other forms of innovative progression could be put in place in developing areas in the near future?

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Source: New feed 1