2 ounce solar water purifier

Here’s an article about it.

That is pretty darn amazing!

That is pretty darn amazing!

Agreed! But for backpacking I’m not certain I would want to pin my ability to purify water on having a bright sunny day.

Could be interesting if this works in the real world, but don’t hold your breath.

Press release:

https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2016-08-15-slac-stanford-gadget-grabs-more-solar-energy-disinfect-water-faster.aspx

Nature Nanotechnology paper:

http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2016.138.html

…we achieved water disinfection of >99.999% inactivation of bacteria in 20 min with a small amount of material (1.6 mg / liter) under simulated visible light

— Rex

No sunlight, no problem.

One of the key features of this new material is harvesting visible light. Somebody could develop a bottle with this material and a bunch of LEDs tuned to the frequencies that generate the most hydrogen peroxide. Use built-in rechargeable batteries with a limited lifespan for guaranteed return customers. If you really want to over-engineer it, include solar cells so you can recharge the batteries. Add a few incremental patents and you have a multimillion dollar business.

Maybe. From the press release:

… it’s only been tested on specific concentrations of bacteria mixed with less than an ounce of water in the lab, not on the complex stews of contaminants found in the real world.

As we’ve seen from other “breakthrough” water purification technologies, it’s a long way from the lab to a product sold by REI.

— Rex

I’m not sure how this benefits the first-world ultralight backpacker.   If you’re going to use a chemical method (which this is, indirectly – it generates ROS) we already have the proven direct chemical method of Aquatabs – and they weigh virtually nothing, and don’t require bright sunlight.    The major drawback of chemical methods is that they are less effective against spores, and this won’t address that problem.

The benefits of a non-consumable method are obvious in the Third World, of course.   Something light and portable that could set up a purifying installation for a village or for a disaster zone.