Clean-water technology a top advance

A University technology for safeguarding drinking water is among the top advances for 2007 highlighted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in a review of the year’s most innovative technologies.

The inexpensive, nonchlorine-based technology developed by researchers Yan Jin and Pei Chiu could dramatically improve drinking water in a world where more than a billion people lack access to safe water supplies. It is one of seven innovations showcased in “2007: The Year in Technology” in NASA’s Tech Briefs, [www.techbriefs.com], the largest-circulation engineering magazine in the nation.

Linda Bell, editorial director of NASA’s Tech Briefs, says she made the top picks after consulting dozens of resources reporting on cutting-edge technologies in industry, government and academia.

“I went through those that I had come across during the year that were the most innovative and had the greatest potential to result in both commercial and public benefit,” she says. “I’d say I reviewed literally hundreds of technologies that were all interesting in their design and application, but ultimately chose the seven that appear in the article as the most exciting, most promising technologies that ultimately could help a wide range of people.”

Reported last year on the University’s UDaily news service and in the September issue of the UD Messenger, [www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/06/03/Rtechnology.html], the technology developed by Jin, a professor of plant and soil sciences, and Chiu, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, incorporates highly reactive iron in the water-filtering process. The process serves to deliver a chemical “knock-out punch” to a host of pathogens, from E. coli to rotavirus.

The technology can remove harmful microorganisms from drinking water, including 99.999 percent of viruses. Using current treatment methods, viruses are difficult to eliminate from water because they are far smaller than bacteria, highly mobile and resistant to chlorination, which is the dominant disinfection method used in the United States.

Besides safeguarding drinking water, the technology also may have a number of applications in agriculture, which are being actively explored by Jin and Chiu in collaboration with UD virologist Kali Kniel.
Integrated into the wash-water system at a produce packing house, the iron-based filtration system could help clean and safeguard fresh vegetables, particularly leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, as well as fruit.