AquaPak Solar Thermal Water Pasteurizer for Use in Emergency Situations Tayyebe Aghaei*, Frank Husson**, Dale Andreatta*** *Research Engineer at Solar Solution LLC; **president of Solar Solution LLC; ***Ph.D. Mechanical Engineer 10080 Willow Creek Road, San Diego,CA,USA,92131 An emergency is any unplanned event that poses immediate risk to health, life, environment or property. One of the most important factors in a crisis, is the urgent need for water. The need for safe water is a threat to the public health during and after any incident. Destruction of water sources such as springs, wells, aqueducts, broken sewage pipes and lack of electricity are the main reasons for water cut off or water pollution during emergency situations. Lack of water can lead people to use contaminated water for survival. Even water from mobile tankers or stationary tanks installed in the affected areas won’t be completely safe due to the lack of protection from harvest to consumption. During these crises the public will need to use and transport safe water until a long term drinking water supply is available to the population. The AquaPak is one of the options suggested in this paper, as a highly reliable method for use in tropical locations to pasteurize water by only using sunlight. According to World Health Organization, Pasteurization has the highest rank of biologically removal efficiency (99.9999%) for all biological pathogens among alternate household water treatment options {1}. Abstract Now that the AquaPak has been developed, patented, and tested, Solar Solutions will attempt to identify entrepreneurs and companies that will establish independently owned "copy exactly" manufacturing facilities in the developing world. Extensive hands-on training for the managers of these facilities would be provided at the San Diego manufacturing site. Solar Solutions LLC will continue to seek approval from interested non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and any other group that may buy large numbers of units at humanitarian prices from these newly formed companies. The new companies would be able to sell to the NGO's directly or through Solar Solutions, but would also have the opportunity to sell through normal distribution channels in their home countries and to other neighboring countries. Business Plan AquaPak The AquaPak is a batch unit, designed for individual use .With the aim of improving health and sanitation for poor people in rural areas of developing countries or people who deal with water shortage in a emergency situation. The AquaPak is able to pasteurize a maximum of 5 liters of water Within 4 to 5 hours depending on solar radiation. The AquaPak is a ready-to-use product constructed of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ultra Violet(UV) inhibited polyethylene which is quite durable. The current size is about 14 inches square (0.35 meters). The AquaPak is comprised of several layers of materials that can easily, reliably, and inexpensively be assembled using a thermal sealing machine. The sealing process bonds the edges of the plastic tightly enough for the AquaPak to pass a 10-foot (3 meter) drop test when filled with 3 liters of 80°C water. The AquaPak includes a glass indicator known as a WAPI (Water Pasteurization Indicator). The WAPI is filled with an orange-colored wax that melts at 65°C to indicate the start of the pasteurization process{3}. The WAPI can be removed and inverted for reuse after the wax has resolidified. The WAPI is made of glass and is hermetically sealed. The AquaPak also includes a roughing filter, charcoal filter, and final filter. These accessories take out larger debris and help to improve the taste of the water. The AquaPak can be used on any surface including roofs, the ground , wagon, boat or even strapped to someone's back. The AquaPak can also be carried by hand. The bubble pack front insulation allows people to place the unit in various locations without concern of sun location as long as it is in full sun. Pasteurization People in rural area spend a lot of their income on fuel frequently to boil their drinking water and most do not even know that they can purify water by only heating it up to 65°C for 6 minutes or to a higher temperature for a shorter time {2}. Pasteurization is a reliable method discovered by Louis Pasteur back in the nineteenth century. Since then it has been used in a wide range of food and dairy industries. One Billion liters of milk are pasteurized every day. AquaPak Solar Water Pasteurizer References •Easy to use and easy to transport, especially for refugees who are always on the move. •Having a detector to prove if water reached pasteurization temperature and is safe to drink. •No need for pre filtering of water as the effectiveness of pasteurization is not influenced by turbidity, however in case users wanted to have better looking water a roughing filter is provided with each AquaPak. {1} World Health Organization and Unicef, 2012, “A toolkit for monitoring and evaluating household water treatment and safe storage programs, "World Health Organization/Unicef, Geneva {2} Burch, Jay D. and Thomas. Karen,E., 1998, “Water Disinfection in Developing Countries and the Potential for Solar Thermal Pasteurization,” Solar Energy, 64.( 1-3), pp.87-97. {3} Andreatta, Dale., 2007, “A Summary of Water Pasteurization Techniques,” S.E.A. Ltd, Columbus. Advantages of AquaPak A cross-section of the materials used in the AquaPak can be seen in Fig.1. The bubble pack layer automatically maintains a convection gap. Sunlight enters through the bubble pack, clear plastic layer, and water and then converts into heat when it comes in contact with the black plastic layer. The bubble pack serves as a thermal insulator, which allows water to be heated to a temperature sufficient for pasteurization. Cross section of AquaPak. AquaPak users in Cambodia AquaPak users in Tanzania Louis Pasteur AquaPak user in Nigeria •Has its own storage which prevents post contamination. •Provided with chlorine tablet in case weather is cloudy or rainy •AquaPak is able to harvest the rain water with an optional plastic sheet.