IIT-Madras and small scale industry body Tanstia-FNF Service Centre have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for technology transfer of water treatment analysis kits designed to treat drinking water mainly in rural areas.

The research at IIT-Madras for developing the filter and the kit was funded by International Development Research Centre, Canada.

The water filter technology removes turbidity, organic matter, colour, odour, and most bacteriological contamination can be removed.

How it works

Water is filtered through fine sand, plastic wire mesh, activated carbon/charcoal to give a potable water at 20 litres in just 30 minutes while other domestic water filters can give hourly only one litre output. Water is collected in a container and chlorine tablet is added to remove microbes after which the filtered water can be used.

Krishnan Balasubramaniam, Dean, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research, IIT-Madras and C Babu, Chairman, Tanstia-FNF Service Centre, signed the MoU on Monday.

Babu told newspersons that in five years, he expects around 1,500 entrepreneurs to manufacture the water filter.

Training by UN

Ligy Philip of the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Madras, along with two of her students, developed the water kits that have already been tested in the field. The United Nations plans to use these kits for training and provide them for NGOs in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India. Schools students in Vilathikulam townwere trained to use these kits, she said.

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