A reactor for rapid water disinfection in rural areas and post disaster situations, 2012.
S. Ali Shah
Solar Disinfection (SODIS) is the method usually applied internationally to purifying water in rural areas when pipe borne water is not available. Using Poly Ethylene Terephtalate (PET) bottles the process takes 4 hours under the environmental conditions of Trinidad and Tobago.
We have built and tested a portable reactor for decontamination on a larger scale than that possible with bottles. The active surface of this reactor is a coating of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on frosted glass or on a flexible plastic surface coated with glass ballotini of average diameter 0.5 mm. The plastic surface is more suitable for use in rural areas and post disasters situations. In each case Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (35nm) were deposited by a sedimentation process. E. coli contaminated water placed in the reservoir of the reactor was pumped over the active surface at a rate of 48 L/hr while it was exposed to sunlight.
E. coli degradation was rapid for the both surfaces, total elimination taking place within 10 to 30 minutes depending on the solar conditions. The photocatalytic effect of titanium dioxide in the presence of ultraviolet light is the main contributor to the observed decrease in bacterial concentration. Titanium dioxide absorbs ultraviolet light from short wavelengths up to 385nm and is known to be effective in solar detoxification.
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There is no doubt,this reactor is simple but involving brains!great job done.