Ceramic tablets disinfect drinking water

A new, and fairly simple, method of water treatment developed at the University of Virginia could help many more people in the developing world get secure access to clean drinking water, Treehugger.com reported.

The new type of water purification tablet is said to be able to "repeatedly disinfect water for up to six months", just by being placed inside a container with the water.

The MadiDrop is made in South Africa from locally sourced clay, and has silver or copper nanoparticles embedded it. Ideally, it would be used in conjunction with PureMadi's other water treatment system, a ceramic water filter, but it could be used on its own.


PureMadi, a nonprofit U.Va organization, has been developing their ceramic water filter factory in Limpopo province, South Africa, over the last year. The factory takes local materials, including clay and sawdust, and mixes, presses, and then fires them into a pot-like shape.


Once fired, the filters are treated with a dilute solution of silver nanoparticles, to act as a disinfectant:

"The nanoparticles lodge in the pore space of the ceramic matrix and act as a highly effective disinfectant for waterborne pathogens like Vibrio cholerae and pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli." - PureMadi

And not only does the PureMadi clay filter technology help in terms of making clean drinking water more accessible. Their cooperative model for the ceramic filter factory is one that could be transferred over into other areas of the world, as a sustainable small business that could benefit the whole community.