HIDRO WATER S.L. is developing the project:

“WATER FILTRATION AND DISINFECTION SYSTEMS INCORPORATING ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT ACTIVATED MATERIALS (UV-FILTER)”.

Project co-funded by the CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT (CDTI)

Operational Programme for Intelligent Growth 2014-2020 (CRIN)

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Implementation period: 7/2015 to 6/2017

Project reference no.: IDI-20150542

Description:

The project consists of the research and development of new water filters with the capacity to sterilise water by means of ultraviolet radiation.

These new filters have the ability to filter and sterilise at the same time.

In the project, two lines of research have been proposed to improve the sterilisation effectiveness of this new filter, increasing reflectivity and using photocatalytic materials.

Objectives:

• Definition of new filters with UV lamps.
• Coatings for UV photocalytic coatings.
• Coatings for UV-reflective coatings.
• Functional prototypes with coating combinations and advanced control electronics for UV lamp.

Results:

• The project has succeeded in developing a system that combines filtering and disinfection of water using UV, with very high bacterial elimination values; the materials, the electronic system and the PVD surface treatments, both reflective and photocatalytic, have been optimised, and all the objectives established in the project have been achieved.
• The developed titanium oxide photocatalytic coatings have the required characteristics in terms of chemical composition, crystalline structure, mechanical, surface and optical properties.
• The treatments applied (both reflective and photocatalytic) succeed in reducing the microbial load of the reference sample in all cases. In the most effective coatings, total microbiota are reduced by 99.98%, affecting both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
• Analyses of the water tested during the prototype trials have shown that the applied coatings do not release metals in concentrations dangerous for human consumption.
• A prototype with advanced electronics with IOT features and WIFI and Bluetooth connectivity has been realised.