Project: MICROSA Water Purification Device
Partner: Mikroen Solutions
Principal Investigator: Dhimitri Gusho
Co-investigator: Hassan Hassan
Funder: Cultivate Fund
Students: Michael Curi, Zizheng Gao, Jonathan MacAulay and Anxhelo Mecollari
Often taken for granted, access to safe drinking water is a worldwide problem, particularly in less-developed countries. The World Health Organization estimates that waterborne diseases are directly responsible for over two million human deaths annually.10 Residents of developed countries can usually count on safe and reliable water supplies when they’re at home, but this isn’t always the case when travelling abroad.
A result of a one-year partnership between Humber College and Mikroen Solutions, MICROSA Water Purification Device can deliver a steady supply of pure, distilled water of up to ten litres per day. The distillation process employed by MICROSA reliably delivers pure water by removing dangerous pathogens, toxins and salts from even the most polluted of water sources, including saline waters. The new device operates on solar power, a feature made possible by the fact that its power consumption is only a small fraction of the energy normally needed for similar conventional devices.
“This applied research project gave me a great hands-on experience and helped me to learn more about the importance of developing tools like this water purification device. I’d be happy to take part in other projects in the future. ”
— Anxhelo Mecollari, Student, Mechanical Engineering Technology
Humber students assisted with developing the mechanics behind the system and learned about the impact that this product can make around the world, especially in remote areas where access to fresh drinking water is scarce.
The team’s next goal is to further develop the device to increase its output of distilled water from one to four litres per hour. This next step in the development process will assist with bringing the product to market and ensuring that even more people benefit from its capabilities.