old Grump
11-16-2010, 04:59 AM
When microbiologist Prof Eugene Cloete became Dean of the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) in January 2009, he did not allow his expanded administrative duties to overwhelm his passion for his subject.
To the contrary, he picked up on relevant research outside his own field of expertise, which sparked the invention of a high-tech disposable filter that looks like a tea bag and cleans highly polluted water.
Together with researchers from the Department of Microbiology and SU polymer scientists, he recently patented the innovative invention – a portable, easy-to-use and environmentally-friendly water filter bag that fits into the neck of a bottle.
“The water is cleaned right then and there when you drink from the bottle,” Cloete explains.
The sachet combines years of fundamental research on water purification, nanotechnology and food microbiology in a practical way. It promises to provide easy access to clean drinking water for vulnerable communities, for instance those living near polluted water streams. There are also plans to commercialise the filter bag into a product that can be used by outdoor enthusiasts on hiking or camping trips.
As a past executive vice-president of the International Water Association and a member of Coca-Cola’s worldwide panel of water experts, Prof Cloete believes water provision and sustainability go hand in hand.
“The lack of availability of adequate, safe and affordable water supplies impacts severely on vulnerable groups such as the poor, the elderly, HIV/Aids patients and children,” he says.
“More than 90% of all cholera cases are reported in Africa, and 300 million people on our continent do not have access to safe drinking water. Clearly, something has to be done about this.”
Cloete believes the “tea bag” filter shows the way forward because it represents decentralised, point-of-use technology. It can help meet the needs of people who live or travel in remote areas, or people whose regular water supply is not being treated to potable standards.
“It is simply impossible to build purification infrastructure at every polluted stream. So we have to take the solution to the people,” he says.
The invention has become one of the first major projects of the new Stellenbosch University Water Institute, a transdisciplinary initiative established to intensify the search for lasting solutions to the country and continent’s water woes.
http://blogs.sun.ac.za/news/2010/07/28/su-scientists-develop-a-high-tech-%E2%80%98tea-bag%E2%80%99-filter-for-cleaner-water/I can't 6think of a more needed product for disasters when water is so important, more than just individual survival but maybe whole populations if they can do this on a massive scale. I'm thinking of flood and earthquake victims right now suffering from cholera and dysentery. I don't know if this is feasible as an answer but it beats the hell out of delivering a case or 3 of bottled water.
To the contrary, he picked up on relevant research outside his own field of expertise, which sparked the invention of a high-tech disposable filter that looks like a tea bag and cleans highly polluted water.
Together with researchers from the Department of Microbiology and SU polymer scientists, he recently patented the innovative invention – a portable, easy-to-use and environmentally-friendly water filter bag that fits into the neck of a bottle.
“The water is cleaned right then and there when you drink from the bottle,” Cloete explains.
The sachet combines years of fundamental research on water purification, nanotechnology and food microbiology in a practical way. It promises to provide easy access to clean drinking water for vulnerable communities, for instance those living near polluted water streams. There are also plans to commercialise the filter bag into a product that can be used by outdoor enthusiasts on hiking or camping trips.
As a past executive vice-president of the International Water Association and a member of Coca-Cola’s worldwide panel of water experts, Prof Cloete believes water provision and sustainability go hand in hand.
“The lack of availability of adequate, safe and affordable water supplies impacts severely on vulnerable groups such as the poor, the elderly, HIV/Aids patients and children,” he says.
“More than 90% of all cholera cases are reported in Africa, and 300 million people on our continent do not have access to safe drinking water. Clearly, something has to be done about this.”
Cloete believes the “tea bag” filter shows the way forward because it represents decentralised, point-of-use technology. It can help meet the needs of people who live or travel in remote areas, or people whose regular water supply is not being treated to potable standards.
“It is simply impossible to build purification infrastructure at every polluted stream. So we have to take the solution to the people,” he says.
The invention has become one of the first major projects of the new Stellenbosch University Water Institute, a transdisciplinary initiative established to intensify the search for lasting solutions to the country and continent’s water woes.
http://blogs.sun.ac.za/news/2010/07/28/su-scientists-develop-a-high-tech-%E2%80%98tea-bag%E2%80%99-filter-for-cleaner-water/I can't 6think of a more needed product for disasters when water is so important, more than just individual survival but maybe whole populations if they can do this on a massive scale. I'm thinking of flood and earthquake victims right now suffering from cholera and dysentery. I don't know if this is feasible as an answer but it beats the hell out of delivering a case or 3 of bottled water.