Nature-inspired purifier wins inaugural youth water prize for Singapore

The device and its designers to compete in Stockholm next
Tania Tan, Straits Times 10 Jun 08;

THREE students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) High School have designed what they hope will be a cheap and simple way to deliver drinking water to poor communities.

Their portable water purification unit, which distils contaminated or sea water, won them the Singapore Junior Water Prize yesterday.

They beat five other finalists to the $5,000 prize, which was given out for the first time here. They will also represent Singapore at the prestigious Stockholm Junior Water Prize in August.

Team member Koh Shao Yang, 17, said of the win: 'Shock is an understatement. We didn't expect to get this far.'

Their portable device draws inspiration from nature. It has a shape which resembles the jellyfish-like Portuguese man-of-war and floats on water as the sea creature does.

Made out of styrofoam and plastic, the unit uses heat from the sun to evaporate sea water off a saltwater-soaked sheet of fabric.

The distilled water, now stripped of salt, drips down the sides of the device's domed plastic roof into tiny reservoirs.

Each unit produces about 20ml of water an hour, so a few units need to be deployed together.

'It's a small mouthful,' conceded team member Rajarshi Roy, 17, but he added that, in the harshest of situations, 'even a small mouthful can save lives'.

The project impressed judges with its 'elegance and simplicity'.

'It provides a simple solution to pressing problems,' said head judge Ng Wun Jern, the executive director of the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute.

Fellow judge and technology director of the Public Utilities Board (PUB) Harry Seah said that the project's application was relevant, especially in disaster areas, although the device was still in its early stages of development.

Organised by Ngee Ann Polytechnic and philanthropic group the Lien Foundation and supported by the PUB, the competition drew 56 entries from 24 institutions.

It aimed to tap the creativity of youth here to produce long-term water solutions and is expected to be a fixture on the calendar, said Dr Amy Khor, the guest of honour and Senior Parliamentary Secretary with the Environment Ministry.

The team will spend the next three months fine-tuning the unit before heading for the Swedish capital for the international competition.

'We just hope to make Singapore proud,' said Mr Roy.

Singapore to participate in Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition
Channel NewsAsia 9 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE: For the first time, Singapore will take part in the prestigious Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition in August 2008. The team to represent the Republic was picked from the Singapore Junior Water Prize competition held on Monday.

The winning team came from NUS High School of Mathematics and Science where a group of students designed a device that desalinates water. Their aim was to get clean water through an innovative system based on thermal distillation.

The winning team beat five other finalists for the top prize. The competition attracted 56 teams from 24 secondary schools, junior colleges and polytechnics. The participants were students between 15 and 20 years old.

Besides its simplicity, the judges also considered how the project could help in the aftermath of disasters.

Professor Ng Wun Jern, chairman of the judging panel, said: "Aside from being able to be applied for large-scale desalination eventually, what I think is interesting about this project is its immediate relevance, which is the possibility of developing this technology into something that can be used for disaster relief. It is something simple, something that people who have been badly affected by disasters can use on their own very quickly."

The winning team received S$5,000 in cash and a trip to Stockholm. - CNA/vm