Using the Sun to Sterilize Your Drinking Water.

Posted by Alex in Everything Else on March 23, 2006 at 11:19 am


Forget expensive chlorination – Tanzanian villagers used free sunlight to sterilize their water.

"I fill the plastic bottles, put the lids on, then put them on my black-painted roof where they stay for a whole day."

The sun heats the water, helped by the black roof, which helps to absorb the heat.

Solar radiation means a combination of ultra-violet rays and heat destroys the bacteria which cause common water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery and diahorrea.

After eight hours in the sun, it is ready to drink.

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5 comments to "Using the Sun to Sterilize Your Drinking Water."

  1. RadioRental
    March 23rd, 2006 at 2:43 pm

    Also reported in the BBC 3 years ago some research from the NSF on using sari cloth to filter cholera.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2640307.stm

    he method reported above will only work if the water reaches +50C for one hour. Thus limiting this method geographically.

  2. jasonspage.net » Blog Archive » Solar purification.
    March 23rd, 2006 at 6:56 pm

    [...] African villages are using the sun to purify drinking water. (via) [...]

  3. Miss Cellania
    March 23rd, 2006 at 7:37 pm

    Ingenious. Why don't we do that everywhere (where its warm enough)?

  4. Alex
    March 26th, 2006 at 12:17 pm

    Thanks for the link RadioRental - I think simple things like these will save lots of lives in the third world countries.

    Another neat idea is solar refrigeration - for storing medicines and vaccines and so forth in remote areas with no electricity. Like this one: Link.

  5. hooi
    September 2nd, 2007 at 10:31 pm

    and here i thought water in heated plastic is hazardous to health


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