Nanotechnology: low-cost rural water purifier launched in India

Updated - Friday 08 January 2010

India’s Tata Chemicals has launched a low-cost water purification device for use in rural households that have no electricity or running water.

The Tata Swach — Hindi for “clean” will have a price tag of less than 1,000 rupees (US$ 22 = € 15) and would cost 30 rupees per month (US$ 0.66 = € 0.46) for a family of five. This is less than half the cost of Pureit, a similar device produced by Hindustan Unilever.

The Swach combines low-cost ingredients such as rice husk ash with nanotechnology. It uses ash from rice milling as a matrix, impregnated with nano-silver particles to kill bacteria.

While Tata’s device may be suitable for treating surface waters, it does not remove chemical contaminants like arsenic or fluoride, which are common in groundwater, used by 80 per cent of rural Indians.

The device has a 9.5-liter capacity and can filter 3,000 litres until the cartridge has to be replaced. A cartridge would last about 200 days for an average family of five.

By investing 1 billion rupees (US$ 22 million = € 15 million) over the next five years, Tata aims to produce 3 million units a year. The company would eventually look to sell the device in sub-Saharan Africa as well.

Related news:

Nanotechnology: can it help to provide clean water?, Source Weekly, 03 Jun 2009
Household water treatment: scaling-up is premature say researchers, Source Weekly, 13 Mar 2009

Related web sites:

Contact: tataswach@tatachemicals.com

Source: Tata Chemicals, 07 Dec 2009 ; WaterTech Online, 07 Dec 2009 ; Business Week, 07 Dec 2009