New sunlight-powered film kills 99.995% bacteria in water
New sunlight-powered film kills 99.995% bacteria in contaminated water within 40 minutes.
Why it matters
- Addresses global safe drinking water crisis
- Simple, affordable, and robust solution
By the numbers
- >4.3-log bacterial inactivation (99.995% effectiveness)
- Works in 10 litres of water within 40 minutes under low sunlight
- Reusable ≥50 times
The big picture
- Suitable for resource-limited regions due to low energy demand and high robustness
- Promising for real-world applications in global water safety
What they're saying
- Need for a cheap method to test water safety post-treatment
- Comparison to SODIS method, which takes longer and may have plastic leaching issues
Caveats
- New technology; real-world effectiveness and safety need further validation
What’s next
- Further testing and validation in real-world conditions
- Development of a cheap and reliable water safety test method