CICECO News » New patented electrolytic device promises safer drinking water

A research team from CICECO-Aveiro Materials Institute and the Department of Materials Engineering and Ceramics (DEMaC) at the University of Aveiro (UA) has developed a device and an electrolytic water treatment process for domestic consumption that ensures water quality throughout the distribution network. The device's operating process was also developed. Both the device and the process have been granted a national patent.

The research team developed an electrolytic water treatment system for domestic consumption that ensures water quality throughout the water distribution network, as well as the device's operating process.

The device and process developed for municipal water treatment are the subject of this patent and consist of a unique internal water circulation configuration that, combined with contact with ceramic electrodes coated with a thin film of boron-doped diamond, ensures its multifunctionality. This system also offers the advantages of operating at room temperature, atmospheric pressure, and, above all, at low applied voltages.

The team responsible is comprised of Violeta Girão, Filipe Oliveira, Miguel Neto, Rui Silva (also director of the Department), and former master's student José Soares. "Throughout the water distribution network, municipal water can undergo changes before reaching our homes, potentially containing undesirable inorganic/organic pollutants or microorganisms that are harmful to public health," the technology's inventors state. Thus, "the main functionalities of this device consist of the sustainable and efficient elimination of these inorganic/organic pollutants and microorganisms through an electrooxidation process amplified by the system's internal water circulation configuration," they add. "It also reduces water hardness and ensures efficient self-cleaning."

The technology protection process was led by UACOOPERA, the UA department responsible for protecting the academic community's R&D results, which monitored all phases until the patent was granted in Portugal.

The patented technology was developed as part of the SGH – Smart Green Homes project (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-007678), led by Bosch Termotecnologia SA and UA, a project completed in late 2020.

Original news link