Principal Investigator: Prof. Hu Xiao (School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), NTU)
Team: Liang Yen Nan (Research Fellow, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI)), Lua Shun Kuang  (Research Fellow, MSE, NTU), Qi Huiyuan (Research associate, MSE, NTU), Jacob Lim Song Kiat (Research assistant, MSE, NTU)
Mentor: Alfred Chong (CEO, Nanoveu Pte Ltd)


A point-of-use purification gel that absorbs, disinfects, and decontaminates nearby water sources into emergency drinking water

Natural disasters often result in a severe scarcity of safe drinking water in affected areas. Between 1994 and 2013, EM-DAT recorded 6,873 natural disasters worldwide, which affected an average of 218 million people annually. Existing technologies provide some options of chemical treatment, filtration and solar disinfection, which requires large deployment time (circa 1-4 weeks) and are usually heavy.

NTU’s patented gel technology offers a cost-effective, efficient and easily deployable solution to purify water for drinking. The specially formulated gel, designed in a compressible package, absorbs contaminated water (e.g. water sources from rivers, streams, pond water) and makes it safe for consumption when squeezed out. This process can be replicated and the gel can treat up to 2 litres of contaminated water under 15s. The cryogel composite retains heavy metal and organic pollutants, and removes 99.9999% of E. Coli bacteria. This technology is applicable for outdoor adventurers, doomsday preparation and military applications.