NANOTECH2DAY: Grain Sack That Doubles as a Solar Powered Water Purifier for the Third World

Grain Sack That Doubles as a Solar Powered Water Purifier for the Third World

Outraged by the existence of so many starving communities with no access to clean water in many poor countries, three Korean industrial designers – Jung Uk Park, Myeong Hoon Lee and Dae Youl Lee – created a special bag that initially is used for delivering the food sent by the UN and international NGOs to those in need. The idea is that these organizations replace conventional bags with a Life Sack to ship grains and other food staples to these people. After the food is stored, the bag works as a water purifier.

The container uses Solar Water Disinfectant Process (SODIS) technology to kill organisms in the contaminated liquid through thermal treatment and UV-A-radiation, which easily penetrates the PVC easily. An internal filter is able to remove all microorganisms bigger than 5 nanometers. To get an idea of this filter’s efficiency, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis is 200 nanometers in size.

More than 4,000 children die everyday as a result of diarrhea from drinking contaminated water; SODIS is a free and effective method for treating water using plastic bottles and the sun’s UV rays to kill pathogens responsible for diarrhea. Simply leave a clean plastic container filled with water in the sun for 6 hours and those bacteria are destroyed, literally scorched.

Considering that some people walk great distances to get water, the Life Sack comes with straps so it can confortably be carried as a backpack. Then they just hang it in the sun and let the magic work itself.

LifeSack Water Purifier Kit