New, cost-effective device uses copper's properties to purify water

To help poor households decontaminate drinking water at home, a team of scientists from city-based TransDisciplinary University (TDU) claims to have come up with an affordable drinking water purification product, TamRas.

TamRas comes with a 15-litre container that houses an immersible copper unit with a handle calibrated to free the water of pathogens. The product uses the property of copper ions to get rid of E. coli, rotavirus, typhoid and cholera-causing pathogens commonly found in drinking water. The jar or the container comes with a tap and lid and water once stored in the jar for 10 hours, comes out purified.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the product in the city on Monday, vice chancellor of TDU,  Balakrishna Pisupati, said, “This simple solution took eight years of research. Scientists at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases and CMC Vellore tested the efficacy of the device in killing diarrhoea-causing pathogens. We have conducted field tests of the device in Indian and Kenyan households. Tracking studies showed that the use of the device significantly reduced microbial load in drinking water and also the U5 diarrhoea incidence.”

The university said that it came up with the idea of developing ‘TamRas’ on the lines of copper pots. Pisupati added that the device requires neither electricity nor recurring maintenance costs and the product has also been launched in HD Kote, MM Hills and Raichur, besides Bengaluru.

Principal investigator of the project, Padma Venkat, said TamRas costs Rs 1,500 in the market and will be sold through a community-based social enterprise model, wherein the local entrepreneur will not just be promoting the product but will also be nudging behaviour change in terms of better water, sanitation and hygiene practices. Padma said they are looking for a tie-up with non-governmental organisations to promote the product in Bengaluru.

Those interested can call TDU helplines 2856 8000/01/02/03 or write to [e-mail].
DH News Service

How it works
Place copper unit in the 15-litre container/jar
Fill water in the unit and leave for 10 hours
Pour out water using the tap fitted to the container