{"id":378636,"date":"2022-06-13T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=378636"},"modified":"2022-06-13T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T04:30:00","slug":"device-powered-by-solar-panels-purifies-water-to-infant-safety-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/device-powered-by-solar-panels-purifies-water-to-infant-safety-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss students develop solar-powered device that purifies water to safety standards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In some countries, clean water is considered a luxury. South Sudan and Ethiopia, for instance, lack complete access to drinking water and most of it comes from wells. Water from there can contain dangerous particles. A student team<\/a> from the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology<\/em> (ETH) in Z\u00fcrich has developed a device that can solve this problem. It purifies water by harnessing solar power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"SOWA\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"SOWA\"<\/figure>\n
SOWA and their work. Source: SOWA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The team behind the device is made up of eight bachelor students who chose to pursue a focus project during their studies. They gave themselves the name SOWA. It \u201cstands for solar water,\u201d explains Giacomo Mastroddi, one of the team members. Seven students are studying mechanical engineering and one of them is doing electrical engineering. One of the main goals of SOWA was to learn and use technologies in a novel way. SOWA team\u2019s project is still in prototype mode, but they continue to work on developing it further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurdles faced by many<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some countries, water is highly contaminated by pathogens. These are problematic ions such as iron and copper, and volatile organic compounds,\u201d Muttoni explains, another student of the team. These particles make water unsuitable for drinking and medical purposes. Additionally, infants are more prone to suffer from unsafe water than adults are. More specifically, if they are bottle-fed, the dangerous particles in the water are disproportional to their body weight. This poses extreme health risks. \u201cOur project is really based on people’s problems and by applying our learning experience, we are able to come up with something for them,\u201d Mastroddi adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A working prototype<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur device has four purification modules,\u201d says Marco Muttoni. According to Muttoni, the water undergoes ultra-filtration<\/em>, electrodialysis<\/em>, filtration via activated carbon<\/em>, and UV disinfection<\/em>. First of all, ultra-filtration removes small particles like dirt and bacteria. Secondly, when electrodialysis is used, an electric field is applied to separate ions from the water. After that, the activated carbon filter disposes of volatile organic compounds. Lastly, the UV deactivates the viruses and tiny bacteria that may have survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choice to use electrodialysis was made on the grounds of its efficiency. According to Muttoni, this way of removing particles is far more efficient in comparison to reverse osmosis<\/em> \u2013 one of the other separation processes used for water purification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the device is also automated, which means that it \u201cis controlled by computers powered by solar panels,\u201d explains Mastroddi. The main goal according to the two SOWA members was to create an autonomous compact device that could be used wherever it is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The device that the team developed. Source: SOWA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the way to success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While it may seem rather challenging to jump from the lecture hall to the laboratory and develop a device like this one, the result is clear. And it is a successful one at that. Nevertheless, the work process encountered obstacles just like any other project. The team had to overcome a number of challenges, but nevertheless succeeded in carrying out their project. The biggest challenge according to the two members was to understand and develop the electrodialysis module, which disposes of the ions. \u201cElectrodialysis was not used that much in such a small system. We had to figure out how to use it and make it easy to explain how to use it too,” Mastroddi says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second challenge that the team had to overcome was getting used to working together. Not only could social interaction with each other be challenging but also understanding each other and making decisions. \u201cThis was the first time that we shifted from lectures where you study on your own, to a working group made up of people,\u201d Mastroddi goes on to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last but not least, entering an empty lab and creating something with your own hands is not that easy either. That meant that SOWA had to coordinate and manage the different situations they faced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Giacomo
Giacomo Mastroddi carrying a tank. Source: SOWA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Efforts rewarded <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot to be proud of when you develop a device from scratch. \u201cAs soon as you enter the lab, you can see it. Whereas it was just an idea before,\u201d notes Mastroddi. Seeing what you have worked on for so long is a worthy point in time for any scientist. But this is not the only thing that the team is happy about, there is more to it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing that makes me really proud is that we designed the prototype based on the knowledge that we built up through reading. It also expresses our creativity,\u201d adds Muttoni. \u201cWe started with electrodialysis which can also be used in other ways. And we tried to develop a system that makes use of this technology in a completely new way. It\u2019s fantastic that we managed to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where to?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the successful efforts of the team, their future is still open for discussion. Questions such as ‘Are you planing to continue to work as a team? Are you planning to set up a start-up?’ cannot be answered straightaway. \u201cWe are still bachelor students,\u201d Mastroddi notes. Currently, the prototype of the device belongs to the Separation Processes Laboratory <\/em>at ETH Z\u00fcrich and Professor Dr. Marco Mazzotti, who is the head of the laboratory and the original brain behind the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be honest, I\u2019ve asked myself many times if this really is my vocation. Over the next few weeks, we have lots of presentations lined up with other professors and labs. I think we will figure it out from there,\u201d concludes Muttoni.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
New wastewater treatment technology to be tested by the University of Twente<\/div>
On Tuesday 17 May, the University of Twente (UT) opened a membrane filtration pilot unit at the Enschede wastewater treatment facility.\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In some countries, clean water is considered a luxury. South Sudan and Ethiopia, for instance, lack complete access to drinking water and most of it comes from wells. Water from there can contain dangerous particles. A student team from the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (ETH) in Z\u00fcrich has developed a device that can solve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2490,"featured_media":512193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[41450,2631],"location":[52892],"article_type":[6758],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-378636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability-nl","tag-eth-zurich","tag-zonnepanelen","location-switzerland","article_type-interview"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"The SOWA team has developed a water purification device that runs on solar power.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Polya Pencheva","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/polya-plamenova-pencheva\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Group_SOWA_sun_2-1-scaled.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Sustainability<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Sustainability<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["ETH Z\u00fcrich<\/a>","zonnepanelen<\/a>"],"unlinked":["ETH Z\u00fcrich<\/span>","zonnepanelen<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 4 years ago","modified":"Updated 4 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on June 13, 2022","modified":"Updated on June 13, 2022"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on June 13, 2022 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on June 13, 2022 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=378636"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=378636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}