UA-Affiliated Tech to Improve Drinking Water
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Business
A method of cleaning drinking water with light is being tested and developed at The University of Alabama with the hope of creating a product available for homes and businesses
LiTeWater, a company spun off from the technology, will be one of five teams competing in the Alabama Launchpad Startup Competition Dec. 10 in Huntsville.
Cleaning drinking water from a faucet with ultraviolet light, along with standard filters, could not only remove chemicals but potentially harmful viruses and bacteria. Commercially-available filters for homes and businesses use activated carbon and other minerals to remove contaminants, but they do not disinfect the water from pathogens.
“LiteWater is a mini water treatment plant for a faucet,” said Ben Bickerstaff, co-founder of the company and a graduate research assistant with the UA Office for Technology Transfer. “The technology uses UV lamps to disinfect harmful pathogens from water. To date, we have blown past EPA standards, the gold standard, for clean drinking water.”
LiteWater is part of a host of start-up companies that receive early assistance and mentoring through the Office for Technology Transfer within the UA Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
The patent-pending technology is based off work done by Peter Gordon, an engineer and entrepreneur, that is tested and developed by two UA professors, Dr. Mark Elliott, an assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, and Dr. Patrick Kung, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Gordon approached Elliott and Kung who, along with students, explored new methods of disinfecting water using ultraviolet light as part of a contest sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. The three partnered to further research and develop one of Gordon’s technologies that would disinfect water at the point of use, the standard faucet.
Source: UANews
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