The quality of drinking-water is a powerful environmental determinant of health. Assurance of drinking-water safety is a foundation for the prevention and control of waterborne diseases.

Poor water quality continues to pose a major threat to human health. Diarrhoeal disease alone amounts to an estimated 4.1 % of the total daily global burden of disease and is responsible for the deaths of 1.8 million people every year (WHO, 2004). It was estimated that 88% of that burden is attributable to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

The Aqua-Nu Ultra High Flow Rate ceramic which has an adjustable flow and is capable of being manufactured in any shape or size, giving it far reaching commercial and humanitarian potential. Aqua-Nu’s ceramic technology is capable of being fitted or retrofitted to new and existing systems.

The company’s team of scientists and technologists has spent six years developing and testing unique point-of-use filtration technologies using non-chemical based ultra high flow rate ceramics’ and original anti-microbial treatment systems.

It was recognised early in the project that it was not possible to meet the required objectives through the use of activated carbon as the sole filtration medium, the medium utilised in the vast majority of domestic water filters.

However, in considering a range of supplementary media, it was decided that the use of a ceramic-based membrane could facilitate the high flow rate and high contaminant removal required to support multiple water filtration applications, including filtered jugs, kettles and as an inline filter on plastic (PET) bottles.

A diatomaceous earth based ceramic was ultimately developed and patented, specifically for use with particular grades of granulated activated carbon (GAC). This ceramic is treated with a bactericidal agent to prevent sporulation of bacteria within the capsule.

In tests conducted with independent laboratories, notably CAL Ltd in Ireland along with South East Water and Severn Trent Laboratories in the UK, this unique, efficient and flexible water filtration system has performed substantially beyond industry standards and leading market competitors.

The Aqua-Nu Ultra High Flow Rate ceramic performed as follows:

• cryptosporidium > 99.9999%
• giardia > 99.9999%
• legionella > 99.99%

Aqua-Nu ceramic also removes by occlusion/pore value:

1. shistosoma causing shistosomiasis (according to wiki: is the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease after malaria)
2. echinococcus vogeli causes echinococcosis (according to wiki: is a serious disease that not only has a significantly high fatality rate, but also has the potential to become an emerging disease in many countries)
3. dracunculus (guinea worm)
4. trypanosoma (sleeping sickness)
5. fasciola hepatica/liver fluke (causes liver rot)
6. onchiocerca volvulus (river blindness)
7. spiroketes (most well known of which is leptospira causes weils disease)
8. threadworm
9. hookworm
10. pinworm (causes enterobiasis in children in developed world)
11. tapeworm
12. roundworm
13. ascaris
14. taenia solium
15. hymenolepsis nana
16. cyclospora cayetanensis (protozoan cysts)