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July 15, 2008
Solar Water Disinfecting Tarpaulin Produces Potable Water
Eric Olson, a San Francisco architect, has invented the Solar Water Disinfecting Tarpaulin (SWDT)(pictured), which he believes could help eradicate the problem of polluted water, which the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates claims over 1.5 million lives every year.
Not only does it purify water, up to 20 liters, it also makes it more portable in large quantities.
"There are lots of products that do one or the other," Olsen said. "There's a really interesting product that's been around for 10 or 12 years called the Hippo Water Roller, a 20 gallon drum with a handle attached that allows people, mostly women, to transport a week's worth of water back home".
Olsen also points to SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection Process) developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) that has successfully tackled water impurities.
"The idea of SWDT," he says, "is to combine these two products and make them into something that can do both roles effectively".
"We are trying to imagine ways that this thing can be made and repaired by people where it is most needed," Olson said. "We are working on a sheet welding process which is much lower tech, inexpensive and also capitalizes on the handcraft skills of local people", as reported by CNN.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at July 15, 2008 02:13 PM
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