Swedish Inventor Demonstrates Solar-Powered Water Purifier

January 12th, 2009 by Andrew Williams

[social_buttons]

A Swedish inventor has unveiled a solar-powered water purifier that could provide billions of the world’s poorest people with access to clean and disease-free drinking water .

The device, called the Solvatten, (Swedish for ‘sun water’), looks much the same as a standard jerrycan and can be filled with up to ten liters of water, opened out, and left in the sun. A simple indicator shows either a red or green face to let users know when the water is safe to drink (typically after 3-4 hours), thus avoiding the risk of contracting water-borne diseases.

According to inventor Petra Wadstrom, “My inspiration to work with Solvatten is the fact that people are living with dirty water around the world and children are suffering from bad water, which is easily preventable, but people are living with a lot of solar energy and not using it.”

The device has already been tested in Kenya and Nepal , and the feedback so far has been very positive. Speaking about the trials, Wadstrom said, “It’s very easy to understand the method, and it’s user friendly so you don’t need to have technological skills to understand how to use it.”

According to Bhushan Tuludhar, executive director of the UN Habitat and the Environment and Public Health Organisation (ENPHO) in Nepal, the Solvatten is one of several water-purifying methods being tested for their effectiveness in supplying the world’s poor with regular access to clean water. He forecasts that access to central water facilities that provide safe water to everybody are “a distant dream,” and that what is needed are “point-of-use water treatment facilities, point-of-use water treatment technologies that are suitable to local conditions.”

Image Credit – Solvatten









Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica member, supporter, or ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.

Sign up for our free daily newsletter or weekly newsletter to never miss a story.

Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest Cleantech Talk Episode