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When one is on the go, they can’t forget life’s necessities. This includes food, water, a stable living environment, and perhaps some form of entertainment. For hikers, travelers, and other outdoors types, actually getting a clean supply of water is going to be a tricky task.

Thankfully technology is on our side, and has produced what we call the ultraviolet water purification process. In this process, ultraviolet rays are applied to the water, the rays disrupt the DNA of many organisms, and the water is thus declared safe to drink. The process typically eliminates 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

The best alternative to purify one’s drinking water is going to be through the use of chemicals. Chemicals can be used to sterilize the drinking water, but they are often more expensive and can sometimes produce effects that may be unsafe to those drinking the water. Thus, UV purification is often regarded as the better of the two.

The great part about the ultraviolet purification process is that it is also going to be incredibly fast. Chemicals take much time to dilute into the water, and must linger around to ensure most of the harmful agents are destroyed. The UV process will generally only take anywhere from a minute to a few minutes, depending on the model purchased. Either way, this is a very miniscule amount of time when one considers that purifying a drinking source in the first place is otherwise an impossible task.

As technology progresses, we also see alternative forms of energy being used with the ultraviolet purification process. The one advantage chemicals have is that they don’t need batteries- but recent advances have allowed many models of UV purifiers to run off of solar power. While they will still take batteries, it definitely decreases their dependence on this man-made form of energy.

Consumers should be reminded that the act of purifying water in portable options is quite a complicated process that wasn’t available decades ago. Because they are still relatively new and feature latest technologies in their construction, UV water purifiers are typically going to be around $100 or more. Many will feature different options and add-ons, which are recommended if a consumer is serious about their safety while camping and hiking.

Closing Comments

Water purification has come a long way. Many are still stuck on using strips and chemical tablets, but as technology shows the clear winner, we’ll see ultraviolet models take the lead on the consumer market. Many models can be found online if not through local retailers, so be sure to have one before going on the next camping trip.

Learn more about SteriPEN Adventurer water purifier and SteriPEN purifier.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Food And Beverage, Health And Fitness, Home And Family, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.