This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project develops a low-cost, water purification technology for removal of biological and chemical contaminants. In combination with research at the University of Oregon and technology licensed from the University of Texas, a proprietary surface-modified mineral adsorbents will sequester high concentrations of chemical contaminants, such as arsenic, lead, mercury, PCE, TCE and MTBE. The current effort will: a) optimize specific bifunctional ligands and mineral substrates capable of removing heavy metals to meet the EPA drinking water standards; b) demonstrate alternative ligand/substrate combinations capable of selective removal of contaminates from a water stream; c) demonstrate qualification to EPA and California drinking water requirements of a CCT water filter and ultra-violet lamp combination; d) field test the solution in an underdeveloped location.
Currently two-thirds of the world's population does not have access to clean water and one-third lack access to a reliable source of water. In certain parts of the world, mostly the underdeveloped world, water is already the most precious necessity. From the executive summary of the World Water Assessment Program sponsored by the United Nations under UNESCO: "In 2000, the estimated mortality rate due to water sanitation hygiene-associated ... diseases.. was 2,213,000." That equates to one person every 15 seconds. In the U.S., an 2001 EPA report estimates that over two million Americans get sick from contaminated water each year. In China, over one billion people lack acceptable water resources. At the completion of the Phase II effort, CCT will have a complete solution, using both passive and active technologies, for a low cost, sustainable water purification module.
