Brass for Purification of Water in Rural India

7/29/2019 Brass for Purification of Water in Rural India

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Brass (and copper) containers forpurification of water in rural India

Rob Reed,Division of Biomedical Sciences,

Northumbria University



Outline:

• Indian context (Rajasthan & Kerala)

• [Solar disinfection]

• Current usage of brass/copper vessels

• Work at Northumbria/Panjab Universities



Indian context (Rajasthan & Kerala)





Rajasthan (Jodhpur)

















Kerala (Alappuzha)













[Solar disinfection]



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Time (h)

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Field studies - inactivation of faecal indicator bacteriaRajasthan water sample in full sunlight.

Faecal Coliforms

Enterococci





Solar disinfection – time for 99.9% inactivation

• High light: 180-220 minutes (within 3-4 hours)

• Moderate light: 300-360 minutes (within 5-6 hours)

• Low light: 500-1000 minutes (over 1 day)



Current usage of copper/brass vessels













Work at Northumbria & Panjab Universities

(inactivation of faecal bacteria during storage)



Puja Tandon











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N Mac mFC-R mEndo mLSA

E. coli NCTC 8912 kept for 6 h in a brass pitcher

(initial inoculum show n as dotted line; aerobic counts

unshaded bars; ROS-neutralised counts shaded bars)



E.faeca lis NCIM B 775,12hr in bras s po t.

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N KF SB

Aer

AC+P



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Mac mFC-R mEndo mLSA

Khanpur river water kept fo r 6 h in a bras s p itcher

(init ial inoculum shown as d o t ted line; aero b ic co unt

unshaded b ars; ROS-neutralised count shaded bars)



Summary of lab findings:

• Pure culture of all tested strains of

E. coli and Enterococcus faecalis werefully inactivated after 48 hours storagein brass/copper vessels

• Similarly, natural water samples tested

negative for faecal indicator bacteriaafter 48 hours in brass/copper



initial count after 48 hours

faecal coliforms



initial count after 48 hours

enterococci



To t a l C o lif o rms is o la t ed fro m Bras s po t

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Mac mLSA mEndo mFC-R

Aer

An+P

Chandigarh fieldwork: water stored overnight in pitcher



To tal Co lifo rms is o late d fro m Earthern po t

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Mac mLSA mEndo mFC-R

Aer

An+P

Chandigarh fieldwork: water stored overnight in pitcher



13050Brasspitcher

16701270Earthernpitcher

17701420Source

water

ROS-neutralisedAerobic

Coliform counts per mL on MacConkey agar

Comparison of source and stored water: Gujrawala village

C l i f ill t t



Conclusions from village tests:

• For all 3 village locations, a decrease in

coliforms of around 90% was recorded afterovernight storage in brass pitchers

• However, overnight storage was not longenough to achieve total inactivation(48 hours required)

C l i



Conclusions:

• Water stored in brass (and copper) vesselsinactivates the major faecal indicator bacteria

• Initially (6-24 hours), there is evidence ofsub-lethal injury, but after 48 hours no viable

bacteria can be isolated from water stored inbrass/copper

• These results indicate the direction for

further research into the practical applicationof copper for water disinfection

N xt st ps



Next steps……

• Extend range of microbes tested

• Investigate effects of water quality

(especially pH)

• Alternatives to copper pitchers?

• Field trials (case-control studies)









Documents

Brass for Purification of Water in Rural India