UPDATE: I discovered this during a recent re-check of SODIS information: Plastic or Glass, Does it matter for UV penetration?ĭifferent types of glass have different chemical and physical properties. Some types of glass will block too much of the UV-A spectrum for this purpose. Again, it should be a clear plastic bottle (see note below about glass – which is evidently usually okay too).
#Sunlite suite how to get a light to do stuff code#
PET, PolyEthylene Terephthalate, Recycle code #1 on bottom of bottle.ĭon’t use colored bottles. The recommended bottle to use is a “PET” bottle. Just use a typical size soda bottle or water bottle. In moderately cloudy water, UV-A will lose 50 percent effectiveness at a depth of 10 mm (about 0.5 inch), whereas UV-A will only lose 25 percent effectiveness at a depth of 10 mm in clear water. The plastic water bottle should be no bigger than 2 liters.If the water is cloudy and dirty, it should be filtered first to allow the UV-A rays to effectively penetrate into the water.However, if the water is already contaminated with chemicals from pollution, the chemicals will remain. List of caveats to UV-A sunlight water purification Parasites – Cryptosporidium (needs 10 hours exposure).In fact, the effectiveness of terminating harmful bacteria can be an amazing 5-Nines, that is, 99.999 percent! List of Bacteria & Germs killed from UV-A sunlight exposure at 6 hours UV-A rays from the sun, (Ultraviolet-A, longwave, 315-400 nm), will terminate harmful bacteria, parasites, and viruses in water, given enough sun exposure and time.Ī clear plastic bottle filled with water, exposed to the sun for 6 hours will make the water safe to drink (although read the caveat list below). “Solar water disinfection” – SODIS for short – thus offers a solution for preventing diarrheas’, one of the most common causes of death among people in developing countries. Therefore, in this way made drinkable using the rays of the sun. Harnessing the solar energy from the sun to purify (disinfect) water from a lake or stream into safe drinking water. Not only can we convert the sun’s energy to electricity by way of photovoltaic panels, but believe it or not…it can be used via the SODIS method to purify water. Rather, sterilize or disinfect (just a technicality). Update: I really shouldn’t be using the word “purify”. Did you know that it is possible to purify water with sunlight? Solar radiation from the sun can purify (organically disinfect) water and make it safe for drinking from harmful bacteria.