When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
In earlier days, before the existence of the Aquaguards, the Kents and other expensive water purifiers, we often saw our grandmothers using a simple cotton cloth to filter the tap water and then boil it to make it ready for drinking.
Dr. Anil Rajvanshi, an Indian scientist, has brought back these traditional methods in an effective and simple way to make a low-cost solar water purifier, which could be immensely helpful for rural households. Using the knowledge that water does not need to be boiled to make it germ free, and even exposure to a lower temperature for a sufficiently long time should suffice, he has created a low cost solar water purifier using cotton cloth, glass pipes and sunlight!
“In most other solar heaters available in the market, water only gets heated up, it is not purified. And in other systems like RO, etc, water only gets filtered but complete sterilization is still lacking. So we came up with an idea where we can both filter the water and kill germs by heating it at a low cost using solar energy,” says Dr. Rajvanshi.
How does the technology work?
All you need is a discarded saree, a few glass pipes and sunlight. The solar water purifier (SWP) consists of four tubular solar water heaters attached to a manifold. The unclean water, which is filtered by the cotton cloth, is filled in the SWP and is later heated using solar energy to make it potable.
The collectors have to be very efficient to raise the water temperature above 45°C for more than 3 hours even on completely cloudy days. Tubular vacuum-based solar collectors (tube dimensions: 47 mm ID and 1.8m long) were perfect and were used in the model. The four-tubes system in the prototype can store water up to 15 litres.
The impact
The biggest impact of the technology is the development of a low-cost model, the know-how for which is made available for free by NARI Phaltan. Since last year, two such systems at NARI are producing around 30 litres of potable water daily for all its staff members.
The cost of setting up the SWP is just Rs. 1500 and it is so simple to create and install that anyone in rural India can fabricate it.
“We have not patented this technology so that the rural population can utilise it in an efficient way,” says Dr. Rajvanshi.
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