The Drinkable Book

By Kate Hassett

Image: Water is Life
Image: Water is Life
This book can provide the user with clean water for four years.

The pages of this book do more than just tell a story, they also contain vital information on maintaining water hygiene and providing an innovative way for readers to filter their water.

Yes, that is correct, the pages of this book can be ripped out and used as a tool to filter deadly waterborne disease in just a flick of the wrist.

The ‘Drinkable Book’ is the amazing new innovation from NGO Water Is Life. Used as a way to provide water to those in rural areas who would otherwise not have proper access to clean drinking water, the device could change the lives of over 1 billion people.

The organisation is hoping to combat the statistic that shows one in five children, under the age of five, die every day from a waterborne disease.

The filtration system is an extension of the ‘Water Filter Straw‘, a portable water purifier that can be used to transform any water source.

The book works by using a treated paper containing nanoparticles of silver or copper, which acts as a way to kill bacteria in the water, as it passes through the pages.

“All you need to do is tear out a paper, put it in a simple filter holder and pour water into it from rivers, streams, wells etc and out comes clean water – and dead bacteria as well,” Dr Teri Dankovich, a lead developer of the technology, told BBC news.

Dr Dankovich, along with her team has been developing The Drinkable Book  over several years as a way to combat the growing number of people without proper access to safe drinking water.

According to their tests, one page has the ability to filter up to 100 litres of water – with an entire book allowing one person to access safe water for four years.

Tests in the lab indicated that the levels of bacteria present in the water dropped by over 99% in the majority of samples, with most having the effect of reducing harmful bacteria by 100%.

“It’s really exciting to see that not only can this paper work in lab models, but it also has shown success with real water sources that people are using.”

With the correct funding and research, the innovation can continue to be developed to a stage which will make is accessible to all.

 

 

 

 

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