Water cleaning bottle

• Geopress announced a water purifier bottle this month.
• The bottle uses a simple push mechanism to clean water obtained from rivers, public bathrooms, and other sources.
• The idea is to cut down on the need for buying one-use plastic bottles.

Self cleaning bottle

• Earlier this month, a similar invention was revealed by Mahaton.
• This one uses wireless charging and mercury-free UV-C LED technology to rid water of bacteria.
• It takes 90 seconds to work
• NASA is also using such UV sterialization methods in space.

Solar-powered desalization plant

• Given the intensity of the current global water crisis, turning sea water into fresh water could become very important in some regions.
• In Kenya, a new solar-powered plant announced at the start of August has the ability to support 25,000 people a day.
• The plant first opened in July last year, but the impact it is having was shared in news this month.

Water-Chlorinating Device

• This device aims to prevent diarrhea. It was created by researchers in Bangladesh and the US and it dispenses a low chlorine dose into tap water.
• The device has been on trial in urban areas of Bangladesh, but study results have just been published in the Lancet.
• In many poor urban communities, contamination by bacteria can "lead to high rates of diseases such as cholera and typhoid."
•  Globally, some one billion people are drinking water that does not meet international safety standards.

Ionizer

• Korean company ArirangION Co. Ltd. is working on a multi-ionizer, they announced in mid August.
• They say the invention "acts by the method of a magnetic field, temperature and water pressure without electrolysis. As the water molecules pass through the magnetic field energy through the ionizer in the shower or tap, the molecular structure of water decreases, which generates high energy, resulting in excellent cleaning power and sterilizing germs 99.998%."
• Acting as a home water filter, the company says the device can be installed in 30 seconds.

More innovations from the past month

• UC researchers are close to producing a microwave-sized water harvester that will pull water from the air.
• News from early August noted that Fionn Ferreira, 18, "designed a new method for the extraction of microplastics, or particles of plastic less than 5 millimeters in diameter, as part of the Google Science Fair."
• News of a water pulling invention to be released in Nigeria came out a few days ago. The Watergen atmospheric water generator "extracts water from the air and purifies it. The portable unit needs only a source of power (solar, diesel or electric) and at least 30 percent humidity in the ambient air."

Further innovations - past few years

• This article provides a great overview of some other innovations being used on larger scales, though the innovations have been implemented over the past few years rather that the past few months.
• It includes China's sponge cities (built from porous material that allows water to soak back into the ground, unlike concrete), using large mesh nets to harvest water from the air, desalination using sunlight, and more.