Leonardo da Vinci, also known as “the Renaissance Man,” was not the only one to recognize that water, in particular, clean water, is essential to life. Auburn Engineering students understand it as well, so much so that several of them have developed a portable water purifying system to prevent water-borne diseases in impoverished areas throughout the world.

Grant Moore, a senior in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Business-Engineering-Technology (B-E-T) classmates Lauren McManus, Grant Martin and Sara Yousey developed the water purifiers for a class project that required them to create a business plan and model product. The class was part of Auburn’s B-E-T program which offers engineering undergraduates a minor focused on business.

The original team developed two products — the Advanced Liquid Purification System (ALPS), and the Salt and Light Purifier (SaL). Both utilize chemical processes approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to eliminate viruses, bacteria and protozoa by dissolving a small amount of salt in water — a pinch per pint. Electricity then passes through specially coated electrodes in the water, interacting with the dissolved salt to produce chlorine compounds that sanitize the water. More salt can be added to create a strong disinfectant.

“One advantage of this technology  is that it is extremely simple, yet successful,” says Moore. “Chlorine tablets take four hours to kill Giardia, a hazardous type of protozoa, and the tablets don’t even touch Cryptosporidium, another type of protozoa. The ALPS system eliminates both from water quickly.”

Watering the world

Moore’s team felt water purification would be profitable in the recreational camping community as well as provide a humanitarian tool for the developing world. “Our research on world water issues was too compelling to ignore. We had to do something,” says Moore. “After many long hours and a lot of determination, we created a completely functional water purifier, going far beyond what was required for the class.”

Similar water purifying systems were originally created for the U.S. military, but required batteries to operate. ALPS is powered by a hand-cranked generator, while SaL is powered by solar cells. “We didn’t want them to be battery-operated, because batteries are difficult to come by or are often not of good quality in developing countries,” says Moore. Each system is optimized for its geographical area and costs $30 – $80. Larger components can treat the water faster, but cost more to build.

With help from electrical and computer engineering faculty member Tom Baginski, the team formed the non-profit group Innovative Humanitarian Products Organization (IHPO) in order to create more devices that will improve the lives of those in need. The organization, which now has 130 members, merged the ALPS and SaL purifiers, creating a hybrid that can be powered by either a hand-cranked generator or a solar cell. It is flexible in terms of which power source it can use to best suit different parts of the world.

This spring, the organization participated in a contest for nonprofit groups through SlideRocket, a web-based alternative to PowerPoint presentations. The group’s video on its purifiers and initiatives in Uganda earned IHPO fifth place out of 38 participants, as well as $5,000 towards building more purifiers. Winners were determined by the number of views their presentation received.

IHPO has partnered with people in industry who want to join the fight against the world’s water crisis. “We want to understand people’s needs and seek consumers’ feedback on our products,” says Moore. “Our partners are testing the purifiers alongside the people who will use them.”

Rodger Qualls, president of the non-profit organization African Children’s Educational Initiative in Huntsville, has taken the ALPS purifier to Uganda to field test, as well as provide clean water for the villages his organization serves.

“Two years ago I took an early ALPS prototype to Luwero, Uganda, and had some of my teachers and workmen operate the device,” says Qualls. “I brought recommendations back to Grant on how to improve the purifier, but overall, the Ugandans were very impressed with how simple it was. They remarked how easy the device was to operate and maintain versus other solutions to sanitizing water,” he says. “Boiling water burns up their forests and sand filters are hard to maintain.”

Last year, Qualls took the improved ALPS purifier back to the village to conduct taste tests. The villagers recommended a concentration of salt per amount of water that they felt produced fresh water they would drink — creating a collaboration between Auburn Engineering students and the people of Uganda.

Along those same lines, Emile Ewing, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering and member of IHPO, is concentrating her master’s thesis on the real-world use of the purification systems. She traveled to Uganda last fall to field test the products and teach local residents how to use the systems.

“In Uganda, there is an abundance of salt and light for the systems to work,” says Ewing. “The residents get it! They see the water start to bubble and they understand that it is working. It is important to show the products to as many people as possible to avoid skepticism, and let them know that it is possible for them to use the systems themselves.”

Wood for boiling water in Uganda is scarce, she explains, so people spend several hours a day carting water back and forth and searching for firewood in order to treat their water.

To further the usefulness of the purifier, Ewing plans to make a picture book to eliminate language barriers faced in teaching people how to use the water purifying systems.

“I love helping people, and I see value in a project like this,” she says. “We don’t think this is the end-all solution to the water issue, but this could be a great solution in a lot of situations.”

Although simple in nature, the purifiers are offering citizens of the world cleaner, safer water and an innovation that impacts their quality of life — a trademark of Auburn engineers.

For her work with the water purification systems, as well as her involvement in a number of campus and civic organizations, Emile Ewing was honored in February by Auburn’s Women’s Resource Center. She received the 2012 Women of Distinction Graduate Student Award for her outreach and recruiting efforts. Ewing has been involved in campus recruiting events, including E-Day and Talons Day, and has also volunteered for several community organizations, including the Humane Society and the Salvation Army. She is an accomplished athlete and has served as captain of Auburn’s Swimming and Diving Team and participated in the Olympic Trials as a semifinalist.