Using Nanotechnology to Clean Water?

{ August 15th, 2008 }

Email | PDF | Print | Creative Commons | Sphere: Related Content

Could nano-technology offer the solution to the problem of offering clean water to the growing populations of developing countries?

Scientists at the University of South Australia have discovered a simple way to remove bacteria and other contaminants from water using tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active nano-material. The water treatment process is a new concept, not used anywhere else in the world, which has the potential to make a significant contribution to the health of nations worldwide. A recent UNESCO report reveals that more than 6,000 people die every day from water-related diseases, and the availability of drinking quality water, especially in the developing world, is fast becoming a major socio-economic issue.

Via Engaget

About the Author: Jonathan Gosier (Founder) is an American-born software developer, writer and social entrepreneur. He currently lives in Kampala, Uganda where he is working on two fronts: to encourage western businesses and investors to engage African entrepreneurs and to encourage the adoption of computers, programming and use of the internet in the developing regions of Africa. He is a huge advocate for promoting the ways in which a semantic web will benefit emerging economies in the world.

Categories: Industry News ~ Trackback

Comments to “Using Nanotechnology to Clean Water?”

Sarah Bramley

August 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am

While this is potentially a very cool technology, I wonder how effective it will actually be in decreasing the number of childhood deaths associated with unsafe drinking water. Population Services International (psi.org) has spent the last many years promoting very simple water purification technologies (a dilute bleach solution and more recently the Proctor & Gamble’s PUR).

Although both are now almost omnipresent in several countries, Kenya for example, we still find that they are difficult for people to actually use on a regular basis. There are several reasons. A few are: They require regular purchase and are often not prioritized in the family budget; they require proper use, which is often more difficult than the manufacturers anticipate; and if safe storage is not practiced, even if a family does use them correctly, safe water is often recontaminated through dipping dirty hands into the stored water.

Although the technology may be beneficial in other sectors, I am tempted to say that what the water sector needs right now is more focus on how to change behavior when using point-of-use technologies like this one, rather than new technologies.