Spanish company, Faircap has designed small, portable water filters which can be used with any standard plastic bottle, allowing users to safely drink water from any source.
The company was recently awarded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Solve Prize, which advances solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address world problems.
Faircap’s water filters purify water instantly, without the need of chemicals or additional energy. The Faircap Mini water filter has a 0.1 micron membrane which allows it to filter bacteria (99.99%), parasites and sediment, reducing turbidity from over 100 NTUs to less than 1 NTU.
The company has been working with micro and ultrafiltration membranes and in some cases in combination with activated carbon fibre. The project began four years ago as a design concept to make a very low cost water filter for emergency relief. Since then the company has had initial support from the Humanitarian Innovation Fund (with funding from UKAid) and lab tested several filters. It is currently designing a family version that could be adapted to Jerrycans and buckets, for people living in extreme poverty.
