Clean drinking water is sometimes taken for granted. It’s something that should be available to everyone although not everyone is lucky enough to have it. Unfortunately, according to the World Health Organization, over 780 million people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. As a result, 1.5 million people die each year due to water-related diseases. Sadly, most of them are all children under the age of five.
Thankfully former student of TU Delft, Olivier de Gruijter, had one goal in his mind after he graduated: a solution that can provide clean drinking water to millions of people worldwide. He successfully developed a water filter that can be connected to any typical Jerry can – one that is both user-friendly and affordable. The system consists of three filters, which remove chemicals, dirt and 99.99% of bacteria and parasites from the water. This water filter was such a good design that it won the 2019 Dutch James Dyson Award!
During a research trip to India, Gruijter noticed a large number of Jerry cans that were being used to transport water. This gave him the idea of using a Jerry can combined with a water filter.
Gruijter recounts his experience there:
During my trip to India, I was amazed how many children suffer from dehydration or diarrhea from drinking contaminated water. Often even with a bad result. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in children under the age of five. Because people rely on polluted water sources, water is often transported with the help of Jerry cans. My big challenge was to develop a filter that can be used by everyone and fits on every Jerry can.
The JERRY Solution
It’s a known fact that when people exercise, blood pumps to the brain and as a result the brain functions better. This is how Olivier came up with the solution – while running. He realized that if he developed a small enough filter that fits on every Jerry can, that it could be the answer. He quickly went to work on his idea and developed JERRY. The JERRY water filter can deliver large amounts of clean water in a safe and simple way. This way, even a child could easily use it.
Challenges Along The Way To Perfection
The biggest challenge was finding a solution for cleaning the water filters. Olivier had several prototypes tested by children and found that even with a manual it was too complicated. In order to clean it, water must be flushed through the filter in the opposite direction. He wanted to find a way to implement this in the water tap process so that the filter would be rinsed clean automatically after the tap was closed.
Finally, by testing prototype after prototype for months in all kinds of design variations, the perfect combination for the filter was found. The final result – a filter that does not have to be cleaned, but is automatically cleaned with every drink.
How Does JERRY Work?
JERRY uses no electricity. Once the tap is opened, the dirty water flushes through three different filters by means of water pressure. JERRY is compact, portable and can be mounted on any standard Jerry can.
Each of the three filters has a specific function. The first filter removes the largest matter such as dirt and sand from the water. The next filter contains micro-membranes that stop 99.99% of the bacteria and parasites. The third is an active carbon filter that binds chemicals such as chlorine to improve water taste.
As the combination of filters can be cleaned it extends their life considerably allowing them to filter over 10,000 liters of water. Furthermore, the individual filter cartridges can be replaced to minimize waste in the environment. The initial price estimates show that JERRY is one of the cheapest water filters in the world, as it costs less than $5 to produce.
