Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Over 500,000 children die every year from unclean drinking water – that’s over 1,400 children a day according to WaterAid UK. And though access to clean drinking water is essential, 650 million people are currently living without it. To solve this issue, researchers have developed what they call the “Drinkable Book.” The book purifies drinking water and has the potential to revolutionize access to clean water.

The concept is quite simple. People tear out a page from the book, slide it into a filter box and pour water through it. Each page contains silver or copper nanoparticles that kill bacteria found in contaminated water. Each page could filter 99% of bacteria, which is comparable to tap water in the U.S., even in highly contaminated water sources where raw sewage has been dumped.

The Drinkable Book not only purifies drinking water, but also contains instructions in each page to educate people about safe water habits. According to researchers, it only costs pennies to produce and one filter can purify up to 100 liters of water.  

www.iflscience.com