This drinkable book turns raw sewage into clean water

Inventors of a book that makes dirty water safe for human consumption have reported a high success rate in a second round of trials.

In tests in Ghana, South Africa and Bangladesh, the Drinkable Book project removed up to 99 per cent of bacteria from 90 per cent of contaminated water sources, making many samples as safe as US drinking water.

The Drinkable Book project, led by Dr Teri Dankovich, provides users with pages treated with nano-particles of silver or copper which can kill bacteria. Each page also provides tips on how to decontaminate water and why it is important.

The pages can be torn out and placed into a filter holder before water is passed through them. Each page is capable of cleaning up to 100 litres of contaminated water, and each book can provide water for an individual for up to four years.

Initial research was conducted at McGill University, Canada, and the University of Virginia, with charities Water is Life and iDE assisting in field tests.

While these tests look promising, at the moment the filters only clean out bacteria and there are questions over how effective they will be in removing other disease causing micro-organisms, such as protozoa and viruses.

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