Isabel Díaz (CSIC): “With the same Hindrop patented technology that we use in Ethiopia, we have created a device that filters and provides the already purification water”

He Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)organism assigned to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, has implemented an innovative technological solution for reduce water fluoride levels and improve the health of the educational community of the inclusive school of Kuderu, in southern India.

This new purification system that arises from the alliance between the Science Agency, the Innovation Company Tagua and the Vicente Ferrer Foundation (FVF) It benefits about 400 people.

In depth

After the successful purification test that was carried out in Ethiopia, the CSIC has designed an innovative dispensing device that uses the same technology with Zeolites and also allows its individualized use. “In the Kuderu school, where students with disabilities live in houses near the center with their families, we needed to innovate,” explains Isabel Díaz, an attached vice president of internationalization and cooperation of the CSIC and co-creator of this water drinking technology.

During generations, the inhabitants of Keduru have had to face the endemic shortage of water and have had to live with the excess fluoride there were. To deal with this problem, they have implemented a New, simple and very effective filtering system.

In a container, the zeolites are placed as a filter and the water that comes from contaminated aquifers is turned to contact the mineral. The water crosses the pores of the Zeolites, which are responsible for chemically retaining the fluoride thanks to the chemical modification patented by the CSIC and, then, falls into another container, totally clean and suitable for human consumption, maintaining the beneficial mineral elements of natural water from the subsoil.

In summary

This project exemplifies that science must be at the service of people. “As scientists it is our duty to listen, see and talk and then go to the laboratory and develop solutions. We cannot do science if we do not know first hand the real problems“, Highlights Rosa M. Blanco, a CSIC researcher at the Institute of Catalysis and Petroleoochemistry and responsible for the Indian project.

In this school, Access to safe water is an essential pillar to guarantee a decent learning environment. In addition, it has been shown that the initial benefit of these filters can be multiplied over time. This solution, which initially impacts hundreds of people, could improve the lives of thousands.