IT WAS once used as a cleaner for the solar panels on Soviet space craft. But now the early space technology, developed 40 years ago, has been revived by two Scottish firms who are using it to provide clean water for 100,000 people in Pakistan and save lives.
Under the project – a collaboration between ADVES Water Ltd and Bridge Technologies – purification technology initially used on Russian space missions will ensure safe, drinking water is made available in Pakistan helping to tackle endemic rates of infant morality. The number of deaths of children under five-years-old in Pakistan is amongst the highest in the world. Many die because they have not developed immunity to contaminated water.
The idea was born after Tina Tina Wright, of ADVES Water Ltd, piloted the liquid technology on her sheep farm as a disinfectant and realised that it had potential for bringing clean water to wider world.
She said: "It was invented to clean solar cells. But the Russians didn't do a lot with it after that. We started dabbling with it to deal with our own issues on the farm such as the overuse of antibiotics and developed a long list of what we could do with it. We are hugely excited by this unique opportunity to share Scottish expertise with our partners in Pakistan.”
Professor Sher Jamal Khan, of Islamabad's National University of Sciences and Technology, said that almost 84 percent of Pakistani communities do not have access to safe drinking water on their premises.
He claimed the technology, which will be piloted on the university's campus in the Pakistani capital, could play a key part in the country meeting the UN's sustainable development goals to ensure clean water and sanitation for all.
Alasdair Allan, international development minister, added: "This cutting-edge technology is now being applied by Scottish companies to improve drinking water and sanitation and helping to build sustainable communities in Pakistan. [It] has the potential to benefit tens of thousands of people, building on the strong links between our two countries."