Vol. 3                                    No. 5                         October 2001

Rainwater Purifier

In the age of looming water crisis, rainwater harvesting is the only way out to supplement the erratic and inadequate centralised water supply. However, to a common man, an unfamiliar taste or colour of rainwater imparted by the atmospheric pollutants and the materials out which roofs and gutters are made, is a sufficient reason to reject its direct use for drinking. Does that mean wastage of millions of litres of the primary source of water? No... AquaSure, a consortium of three specialist Netherlands-based companies offers a solution in the form of Rainwater Purification Centre (RainPC).

The RainPC
Developed by scaling down the multi-staged water treatment method (MST), which involves screening, flocculation sedimentation and filtration, and incorporating existing technologies like upward flow fine filtration, adsorption and ion exchange, in a small compact 26 kg unit, the RainPC offers an affordable solution by converting rainwater into drinking water.

RainPC is made of ultra violet resistant polyethylene housing and cover, stainless steel rods and bolts, nickel brass valve and an adaptor for maintaining constant volume. (See figure 1: RainPC at work)

Xenotex-A and activated carbon catridges along with ultra membrane filtration or micro-membrane filtration module ensures the removal of coliform bacteria (EColi).

The water coming out of RainPC meets the Dutch as well as World Health Organisations (WHO) water regulation standards. The components can also be transported individually to be assembled at the site. Three product types are available based on their microbial contaminant removal capacity.

This technology is ideally suited for virtually any situation and is a blessing particularly for those who have little or no access to regular safe drinking water. (see figure 2: Application of RainPC in individual houses).
The salient features of RainPC are:
    Simple straightforward installation
    Easy to operate and maintain
    Needs no power and operates at low gravity pressure (0.1 bar upward)
    The system is capable of providing a constant flow of about 40 liters of rainwater per hour, enough for a family of five for drinking, cooking and bathing purposes
    Linking more units together increases capacity
    Continuous operation and immediate use
    Maintains nearly constant volume irrespective of water pressure
    The Xenotex-A and activated carbon cartridge, processes up to 20,000 liters
    Xenotex-A can be regenerated up to ten times, delivering upto 2 lakh liters of quality drinking water
    Its cost per 1000 liters is as low as US $ 2.0 to 3.0 (Rs 94 to 141)
   
Rainwater is free, heaven sent, natural and the RainPC can keep it pure. It is competitive with municipal water supplies, especially with water vendors and of course bottled water. This technique also provides an opportunity to re-establish the harmonious relations between humans and the ecosystem, while ensuring safe drinking water.

For further information:
Willhem P Boelhouwer
AquaSure
Industrieterrein De Vaart,
Damsluisweg 44
1332 ED Almere,
The Netherlands.
Email: cleanwater@aquasure.nl

Figure 2: Application of RainPC in individual houses
Rainwater is free, heaven sent, natural and the RainPC can keep it pure. This technique re-establishes the harmonious relations between humans and their ecosystem, while ensuring safe drinking water for all



Dimensions:
l    Maximum height 0.75 metres (m)
l    Bottom/top square 0.37/0.35 m
l    Diameter of drinking water outlet
    and rainwater inlet valve 0.013 m