Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi) has won $1.6 million contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop a self-contained portable water purification system for warfighters.

The program aims to develop a portable unit that can provide a small team of warfighters with a self-sustainable source of potable water from any fresh water source. And SETi's UV LED technology for water quality monitoring and disinfection is incorporated into the system.
Lately, stand-alone UV LED water disinfection efficacy has already been demonstrated at SETi through a program funded by the National Science Foundation. However, this demonstration was designed for commercial use and will not meet the needs of the warfighter.

To achieve compliance with the rigorous standards of NSF P-248, SETi has teamed up with Cascade Designs, Inc (CDI) of Seattle, Washington, to combine novel mechanical filtration technologies with the effective disinfection of UV LEDs.

The system will also use SETi’s UV LEDs to monitor the water “quality”, optimising the system efficiency and effectiveness.

During the project CDI will be focusing on designing novel filtration techniques to complement SETi’s UV LED disinfection reactor.

“Cascade Designs is an innovative company that embraces new technologies to build ground breaking new products both in the public and private sectors” says Joe McSwiney, President of CDI. “We truly believe that UV LEDs will become a compelling disinfection technology component in the creation of safe drinking water both for our troops and the general public.”