Plasmonics driven engineered pasteurizers for solar water disinfection (SWADIS)

Nanophotonics triggered thermally enhanced solar water disinfection bottles for slum dwellers

Among several existing technologies, solar pasteurization is widely accepted as a reliable and cost-effective method for the removal of microbial pathogens from water. This work reports nanophotonics-triggered thermally enhanced solar water disinfection bottles (nano-SODIS) designed rationally by coating plasmonic carbon nanoparticles (CNP) on the outer surface for the targeted pathogen inactivation from water. The cost-effective CNP nanophotonic material used in this work has high efficiency in harvesting solar radiation and dissipating the heat locally. It has broad absorption efficiency to cover the entire solar spectrum; hence, it is capable to generate multiple scattering. It has also properties of boosting of photon absorption and focusing the light within a constrained spatial region, resulting in powerful and targeted heating that inactivates microorganisms in near proximity. These CNPs were used to coat the nano-SODIS water bottles that achieved the highest temperature of 65-70 °C within 90 min of exposure to solar radiation with a consequent six-log reduction. The disinfection period was reduced by a factor of 3 compared to the conventional solar disinfection system. The treated water was further assessed for 7 days, which confirmed the complete absence of bacteria and no sign of regeneration after storing for a longer period. The SODIS bottles coated with CNP thus overcome the problem of limited solar absorption by acquiring higher broadband absorption potential and thus achieving comparatively high disinfection efficiency. The broad band absorption of CNP was confirmed through UV-DRS absorption spectra. The nano-SODIS bottles designed and constructed in this work are simple, durable, and user friendly in nature and have been deployed in the rural and slums areas of Nagpur, Delhi, and Mumbai, India to provide pathogen-free potable water and to improve the health of local poor communities.

Biosand Filter as a Point-of-Use Water Treatment Technology: Influence of Turbidity on Microorganism Removal Efficiency

The number of people living without access to clean water can be reduced by the implementation of point-of-use (POU) water treatment. Among POU treatment systems, the domestic biosand filter (BSF) stands out as a viable technology. However, the performance of the BSF varies with the inflow water quality characteristics, especially turbidity. In some locations, people have no choice but to treat raw water that has turbidity above recommended levels for the technology. This study aimed to measure the efficiency with which the BSF removes microorganisms from well water and from fecal-contaminated water with turbidity levels of 3, 25, and 50 NTU. Turbidity was controlled by the addition of kaolin to water. Turbidity removal varied from 88% to 99%. Reductions in total coliform (TC) and Escherichia coli ranged from 0.54–2.01 and 1.2–2.2 log removal values (LRV), respectively. The BSF that received water with a higher level of turbidity showed the greatest reduction in the concentration of microorganisms. Additional testing with water contaminated with four bacterial pure cultures showed reductions between 2.7 and 3.6 LRV. A higher reduction in microorganisms was achieved after 30–35 days in operation. Despite the filter’s high efficiency, the filtrates still had some microorganisms, and a disinfection POU treatment could be added to increase water safety.