Enhancing Microbial Disinfection in Household Water Treatment by Combining a Silver–Ceramic Tablet with Copper and Chlorine Technologies
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 7
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that microbiologically contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause 485,000 diarrheal deaths each year. Household water treatment is a low-cost method for reducing the pathogen load in drinking water to decrease instances of diarrhea and sometimes death. This study developed and evaluated a new silver and copper water treatment product that meets WHO one-star performance criteria for household water treatment without using electricity: the . First, we tested different configurations of a copper mesh and a copper screen with the MadiDrop to evaluate the effects of their proximity to one another on copper and silver concentrations in water. Wrapping the copper mesh around the MadiDrop decreased silver concentrations in water compared with the MadiDrop alone. Folding the copper screen into smaller dimensions decreased the copper concentrations in water compared with the copper screen unfolded. The MadiDrop and copper screen, coined , provided an average of copper and silver daily for 150 days of use. When tested individually and in combination against E. coli, removed the most bacteria together rather than separately after 8 h. A previous study found a prototypic chlorinated polymer gel removed more E. coli with the MadiDrop than either intervention alone after 8 h. This study tested the viral (MS2 Bacteriophage) disinfection from the chlorinated polymer and by themselves and in combination with one another. The MadiDrop alone removed (90%) of viruses, whereas removed (99.9%) after 24 h. The greatest viral disinfection occurred when the and chlorine-charged polymer gel were used together, removing (99.99%) after 24 h.
Practical Applications
Low-cost and simple household water treatment products can be used in underresourced settings to prevent waterborne disease. This study designed and tested a novel approach to low-cost water treatment: combining a silver-embedded ceramic tablet with a high specific-surface-area copper screen and a chlorine-charged polymer gel. was found to consistently release sufficient levels of silver and copper over 150 days of use. The MadiDrop alone killed less than 90% of viruses, whereas the killed over 99.9% of viruses after 24 h. The MadiDrop, copper screen, and the chlorine-charged polymer gel killed over 99.99% of viruses after 24 h. Although a 24 h wait time is not ideal for emergency settings, the findings suggest that this novel approach to combining silver, copper, and chlorine without electricity is a promising method for a low-cost, household water treatment.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by NSF STTR Phase 1 Grant #2112271. Thank you to Wuhuan Zhang for assistance with copper and silver analysis. Thank you to Rachel Letteri for support and guidance throughout the study. Thank you to Julia Davis, Lorin Bruno, and Victoria Cecchetti for experimental assistance. J. Harris doctoral studies were partially funded by Silivhere Technologies, Inc. J. Smith is the chief technology officer of Silivhere Technologies, Inc.
References
Abad, F. X., R. M. Pintó, J. M. Diez, and A. Bosch. 1994. “Disinfection of human enteric viruses in water by copper and silver in combination with low levels of chlorine.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60 (7): 2377–2383. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.60.7.2377-2383.1994.
Arakawa, F. S., Q. L. Shimabuku-Biadola, S. de Lima Bazana, M. F. Silva, B. A. de Abreu Filho, and R. Bergamasco. 2019. “Activated carbon impregnation with ag and cu composed nanoparticles for Escherichia coli contaminated water treatment.” Can. J. Chem. Eng. 97 (9): 2408–2418. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.23471.
Armstrong, A. M., M. D. Sobsey, and L. M. Casanova. 2016. “Disinfection of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by copper in water.” J. Water Health 14 (3): 424–432. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2016.059.
Armstrong, A. M., M. D. Sobsey, and L. M. Casanova. 2017. “Disinfection of bacteriophage MS2 by copper in water.” Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 101 (18): 6891–6897. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8419-x.
Cervantes, H. I., J. A. Álvarez, J. M. Muñoz, V. Arreguín, J. L. Mosqueda, and A. E. Macías. 2013. “Antimicrobial activity of copper against organisms in aqueous solution: A case for copper-based water pipelines in hospitals?” Am. J. Infect. Control 41 (12): e115–e118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.03.309.
Chen, Y. S., et al. 2008. “Efficacy of point-of-entry copper–silver ionisation system in eradicating Legionella pneumophila in a tropical tertiary care hospital: Implications for hospitals contaminated with Legionella in both hot and cold water.” J. Hosp. Infect. 68 (2): 152–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2007.10.020.
Choi, O. K., and Z. Q. Hu. 2009. “Nitrification inhibition by silver nanoparticles.” Water Sci. Technol. 59 (9): 1699–1702. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2009.205.
Cormier, J., and M. Janes. 2014. “A double layer plaque assay using spread plate technique for enumeration of bacteriophage MS2.” J. Virol. Methods 196 (Feb): 86–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2013.10.034.
Crider, Y., S. Sultana, L. Unicomb, J. Davis, S. P. Luby, and A. J. Pickering. 2018. “Can you taste it? Taste detection and acceptability thresholds for chlorine residual in drinking water in Dhaka, Bangladesh.” Sci. Total Environ. 613–614 (Feb): 840–846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.135.
Dankovich, T. A., and J. A. Smith. 2014. “Incorporation of copper nanoparticles into paper for point-of-use water purification.” Water Res. 63 (Oct): 245–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.06.022.
Drelich, A., J. Miller, R. Donofrio, and J. Drelich. 2017. “Novel durable antimicrobial ceramic with embedded copper sub-microparticles for a steady-state release of copper ions.” Materials 10 (7): 775. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10070775.
Ehdaie, B., Y.-H. Su, N. S. Swami, and J. A. Smith. 2020. “Protozoa and virus disinfection by silver- and copper-embedded ceramic tablets for water purification.” J. Environ. Eng. 146 (4): 04020015. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001664.
Engelbrecht, R. S., M. J. Weber, B. L. Salter, and C. A. Schmidt. 1980. “Comparative inactivation of viruses by chlorine.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 40 (2): 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.40.2.249-256.1980.
Estrella-You, A. 2023. Investigating the synergistic effect of free chlorine and silver ions on bacteria inactivation for point-of-use water treatment applications. Charlottesville, VA: Univ. of Virginia.
Estrella-You, A., J. D. Harris, R. Singh, and J. A. Smith. 2022. Chapter 1. Inactivation of waterborne pathogens by copper and silver ions, free chlorine, and N-chloramines in point-of-use technology: A review, in: Water purification: Processes, applications and health effects. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Estrella-You, A., and J. A. Smith. 2022. “Synergistic bacterial inactivation by silver ions and free chlorine in natural waters.” J. Environ. Eng. 148 (11): 04022072. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0002053.
Harris, J. 2023. Improving silver-ceramic-based point-of-use water treatment with novel copper addition and commercial water filters. Charlottesville, VA: Univ. of Virginia.
Harris, J. D., J. Davis, M. Reese, M. P. Mannzhi, N. M. Tshidumo, R. Mhlarhi, J. N. Edokpayi, and J. A. Smith. 2023. “Improving antibacterial performance of household water filters with a silver-embedded ceramic tablet.” J. Environ. Eng. 149 (7): 04023034. https://doi.org/10.1061/JOEEDU.EEENG-7264.
Kumar, R., S. Howdle, and H. Münstedt. 2005. “Polyamide/silver antimicrobials: Effect of filler types on the silver ion release.” J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater. 75B (2): 311–319. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.30306.
Landeen, L. K., M. T. Yahya, and C. P. Gerba. 1989. “Efficacy of copper and silver ions and reduced levels of free chlorine in inactivation of Legionella pneumophila.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 55 (12): 3045–3050. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.55.12.3045-3050.1989.
Liang, J., R. Wu, T. S. Huang, and S. D. Worley. 2005. “Polymerization of a hydantoinylsiloxane on particles of silicon dioxide to produce a biocidal sand.” J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 97 (3): 1161–1166. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.21814.
Samuni, A., M. Chevion, and G. Czapski. 1984. “Roles of copper and O2 in the radiation-induced inactivation of T7 bacteriophage.” Radiat. Res. 99 (3): 562–572. https://doi.org/10.2307/3576330.
Singh, R., C. Rento, V. Son, S. Turner, and J. A. Smith. 2019. “Optimization of silver ion release from silver-ceramic porous media for household level water purification.” Water 11 (4): 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040816.
Soliman, M. Y. M., G. Medema, B. E. Bonilla, S. J. J. Brouns, and D. van Halem. 2020. “Inactivation of RNA and DNA viruses in water by copper and silver ions and their synergistic effect.” Water Res. 9 (Dec): 100077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wroa.2020.100077.
Straub, T. M., C. P. Gerba, X. Zhou, R. Price, and M. T. Yahya. 1995. “Synergistic inactivation of Escherichia coli and MS-2 coliphage by chloramine and cupric chloride.” Water Res. 29 (3): 811–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(94)00213-Q.
Sudha, V. B. P., S. Ganesan, G. P. Pazhani, T. Ramamurthy, G. B. Nair, and P. Venkatasubramanian. 2012. “Storing drinking-water in copper pots kills contaminating diarrhoeagenic bacteria.” J. Health Popul. Nutr. 30 (1): 17–21. https://doi.org/10.3329/jhpn.v30i1.11271.
Sudha, V. B. P., K. O. Singh, S. R. Prasad, and P. Venkatasubramanian. 2009. “Killing of enteric bacteria in drinking water by a copper device for use in the home: Laboratory evidence.” Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 103 (8): 819–822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.01.019.
Sudha, V. B. P., K. O. Singh, S. Ramani, A. Paul, and P. Venkatasubramanian. 2011. “Inactivation of rotavirus in water by copper pot.” J. Water Sanit. Hyg. Dev. 1 (3): 165–169. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2011.030.
Sun, Y., and G. Sun. 2001. “Durable and refreshable polymeric N-halamine biocides containing 3-(4′-vinylbenzyl)-5,5-dimethylhydantoin.” J. Polym. Sci. Part Polym. Chem. 39 (19): 3348–3355. https://doi.org/10.1002/pola.1317.
TWP Inc. n.d. “200 Mesh Copper. 002" Wire Dia.” Accessed March 18, 2024. https://www.twpinc.com/200-mesh-copper-002-wire-dia.
USEPA. 2002. Methods for measuring the acute toxicity of effluents and receiving waters to freshwater and marine organisms. 5th. ed. Washington, DC: USEPA Office of Water.
USEPA. 2015. “Lead and Copper Rule [WWW Document].” Accessed June 11, 2020. https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/lead-and-copper-rule.
USEPA. 2017. Analytical methods approved for compliance monitoring under the long term 2 enhanced surface water treatment rule. Washington, DC: Office of Water.
Vaidya, M. Y., A. J. McBain, J. A. Butler, C. E. Banks, and K. A. Whitehead. 2017. “Antimicrobial efficacy and synergy of metal ions against enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii in planktonic and biofilm phenotypes.” Sci. Rep. 5911. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05976-9.
WHO (World Health Organization). 2018. Alternative drinking-water disinfectants: Bromine, iodine and silver. Geneva: WHO.
WHO (World Health Organization). 2019. Results of round II of the WHO international scheme to evaluate household water treatment technologies. Geneva: WHO.
WHO (World Health Organization), 2022. “Drinking-water [WWW Document].” Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water.
Yahya, M. T., T. M. Straub, and C. P. Gerba. 1992. “Inactivation of coliphage MS-2 and poliovirus by copper, silver, and chlorine.” Can. J. Microbiol. 38 (5): 430–435. https://doi.org/10.1139/m92-072.
Zacarías, I., C. G. Yáñez, M. Araya, C. Oraka, M. Olivares, and R. Uauy. 2001. “Determination of the taste threshold of copper in water.” Chem. Senses 26 (1): 85–89. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/26.1.85.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 30, 2023
Accepted: Jan 17, 2024
Published online: Apr 30, 2024
Published in print: Jul 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Sep 30, 2024
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.