PEKAN, 16 January 2015 – A Portable Water Filter Machine that is able to produce clean water in the event of natural disasters such as flooding, is the latest technology created by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
The machine has been developed by a group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail from the Advanced Membrane Research Center (AMTEC). Named the Ultra filtration Reverse Osmosis Plant, it was launched by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Datuk Dr. Ewon Ebin at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Kampung Acheh, Pekan.
Prof. Fauzi who was met after the launching ceremony said that the research and development activity to produce this machine commenced three years ago with five PhD students.
“This generator powered machine is able to produce about 5,000 liters of clean water in an hour for 2,000 people a day without the need to be boiled.”
“The water purification process has to go through five stages, namely, pre-treatment filtration, ultra filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet radiation (UV) and softeners. The UV radiation is used to kill bacteria and viruses in the water,” he said.
Reverse osmosis technology and ultra filtrate also allow the machine to treat water from various sources including seawater, and brackish muddy water.
Also at the launching ceremony were the Secretary General of MOSTI, Datuk Seri Dr. Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur, UTM Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir Dr Wahid Omar and Malaysian First Astronaut, Datuk Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.
