Poor access to safe drinking water is a major issue for around a third of the world’s population, especially for those living in rural areas. Because of the abundant sunlight in many of these regions, solar disinfection technology holds great promise.
The researchers studied the pros and cons of five of the most common solar-based disinfection technologies that are applied at their point of use: semiconductor photocatalysis to produce hydroxyl radical, dye photosensitisation to produce singlet oxygen, UV irradiation using LED powered by a photovoltaic panel, distillation using a solar still, and solar pasteurisation by raising the bulk water temperature to 75°C.
“It’s really the first analysis based on how much sunlight there is around the globe, and how we can utilise the sunlight for water disinfection,” said lead researcher Jaehong Kim. “Disinfection is the most important treatment goal in many cases because waterborne diseases are one of the leading...