Clean water supply was a major talking point at the GGCS summit in Washington this week <\/p>\n
This week, hundreds of eminent engineers and students gathered in Washington DC for the third Grand Global Challenges Summit. <\/p>\n
In 2008, the engineering academies of the USA, China and the United Kingdom devised 14 grand challenges for engineers to tackle in the 21st century. <\/p>\n
Some are lofty, science-fiction goals such as reverse engineer the brain, or provide energy from fusion. You can imagine Elon Musk sitting down with a copy of the list and a pen - founding a company to go with each one. <\/p>\n
Others have simpler, and perhaps more noble goals. One particularly hot topic at this years summit - particularly fitting given how the heavens opened just minutes before the opening reception - was the supply of clean water. <\/p>\n
Weve still got thousands of people dying every week of water-borne diseases, said Lord Alec Broers, who helped devise the 14 challenges, and gave an update on progress so far at the conference. <\/p>\n
Engineers from all over the world are working on the problem, and several student groups showcased their groundbreaking ideas at the conference. Here are some of the solutions that caught our eye when we visited the GGCS summit this week. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A team of students from Colorado State University have devised a method for filtering water using sound. Their technology could even remove smaller bacteria and bugs that sneak through traditional filters. Ultrasonic waves cause these tiny microbes to group together and settle out of the solution. Acoustic filtering could be used in drinking water treatment to provide cheaper, less energy-intensive, and overall more sustainable disinfection, write the papers authors. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A team from the University of Bath took a completely different approach. Theyve developed a wind-powered diffuser that can produce up to 100 litres of drinking water every day, for a cost of around 500 per device. It works by cooling and heating air by forcing it through a nozzle, creating condensation which can then be collected on surfaces that are protected against bacteria. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A group of product design students from Bournemouth University took second prize, and $15,000, in the GGCS pitching competition, where they had to present their idea to a group of judges. MoreWater is a modular, multi-stage water filtration system. It was designed with the slum of Korail, in Bangladeshs capital Dhaka in mind. Season flooding during the rainy season disrupts water sources, and creates a high-risk of infection. <\/p>\n
The MoreWater purifier is a solar-powered solution that feeds water through a series of layers - similar to how mineral water is naturally filtered through rock. Each module can be removed individually to make maintenance easier. <\/p>\n
According to its creators, the device can supply a households water purification needs for 10 years. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nano-material could be a game-changer for vast areas of engineering - from the production of batteries, to the treatment of medical conditions. They may have a role to play in making our drinking water safer as well. Solar-powered nano-materials that can clean up water have been a focus of recent work, and Chenjie Shi of Shanghai University presented work on a particular material that could help break down organic compounds such as pesticides and herbicides in drinking water. However, these nano-materials are expensive to produce in any practical quantities. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Saltwater could be turned into drinking water using black paper, plastic and the power of the sun, according to researchers from New York States Buffalo University, whose work was on show at the GGCS summit. It consists of a plastic casing and black paper to absorb the heat of the sun - a cheaper solution than expensive nano-materials. This evaporates the water, which separates it from any contaminants, and then when it condenses its collected in a separate container. Using extremely low-cost materials, we have been able to create a system that makes near maximum use of the solar energy during evaporation. At the same time, we are minimizing the amount of heat loss during this process,\" said lead researcher Qiaoqiang Gan, PhD, associate professor of electrical engineering in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, when the work was first published in January. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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GGCS 2017: Five ways to clean up the world's drinking water - Professional Engineering (subscription)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Clean water supply was a major talking point at the GGCS summit in Washington this week This week, hundreds of eminent engineers and students gathered in Washington DC for the third Grand Global Challenges Summit. In 2008, the engineering academies of the USA, China and the United Kingdom devised 14 grand challenges for engineers to tackle in the 21st century. Continue reading