Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. Receives $1.6M to Develop Portable Water Purification Systems


Columbia, SC - Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi) today announced that it has been awarded a program from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop a self-contained portable water purification system incorporating UV LED technology for water quality monitoring and disinfection.

The goal of the program is 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.

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 has been designed for commercial use and will not meet the needs of the warfighter. In order to achieve compliance with the rigorous standards of NSF P-248, SETi has teamed up with Cascade Designs, Inc (CDI) of Seattle, WA 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", optimizing the system efficiency and effectiveness. Through funding this program ONR has demonstrated its commitment to a new type of water purification system that will benefit from the UV LED advantages, making it smaller, more robust and lower power than anything available today and will reduce the need for chemical disinfectants such as chlorine and iodine.

The system has major implications for improving the self sufficiency of warfighters in mobile operations. "Modern warfighters assume many risks on the battlefield; drinking contaminated water should not be a concern" said Cody Reese, Program Manager at ONR. "Just as visible-light LEDs have changed the face of lighting, ultraviolet LEDs have the potential to revolutionize water disinfection at all scales with a marked improvement to safety, durability, and energy consumption -- from the mouth-piece of an individual drink tube, all the way to commercial-scale water treatment plants".

SETi, the world leader in UV LED technology, recently announced 8X efficiency improvements of LEDs operating in the germicidal wavelength range, through a DARPA development program. "SETi is extremely excited to start this development program through ONR" stated Remis Gaska, President and CEO of SETi, "it will lead on from our successes in DARPA and other military programs to develop a military application based on this new technology".

During the project CDI will be focusing on designing novel filtration techniques to complement SETi's UV LED disinfection reactor. Cascade Designs, Inc. is a leader in water treatment systems and with its hydration product brands MSR and Platypus, is also a leading supplier of portable water treatment systems into the military. "Cascade Designs is an innovative company that embraces new technologies to build ground breaking new products both in the public and private sectors" commented 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."

Other members of the development team include the University of Colorado's department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, led by Prof. Karl Linden and the Institute of Applied Research at Vilnius University, Lithuania, led by Prof. Arturas Zukauskas. The team at University of Colorado is focused on research related to advanced treatment technologies for water and with a rich history in UV systems, will assist in modeling water flow and light distribution from the LEDs to optimize the efficacy of the UV chamber. With a strong history of integrated SETi LEDs into optical monitors and spectrometers, Vilnius University will assist in the development of an optical water quality monitor that will measure the microbial level in the water and adjust the system accordingly.

About SETi:
Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi) is the world's leading supplier of deep UV LEDs with emission wavelengths shorter than 350nm. Using our proprietary and patented technology, SETi develops, manufactures and sells standard LED products under the UVTOP® trademark and custom LED products and solutions under the UVCLEAN® trademark into public and private sectors. Our success is built on an ISO 9001 and AS9100 certified vertically integrated business model with advanced technology development and production facilities based in Columbia, SC to cater to standard or custom orders.

SETi Core Competencies include:
· Semiconductor Materials Growth
· UV LED Device Fabrication
· UV LED Packaging
· UV LED Systems design and integration

For more information, please visit www.s-et.com or contact us at info@s-et.com or on 1-803-647-9757.

About Cascade Designs:
For forty years, Seattle-based Cascade Designs, Inc. has led the outdoor industry in designing innovative, useful and long-lasting equipment, manufacturing the majority of products in their Seattle, U.S.A. and Cork, Ireland facilities. From the original self-inflating Therm-a-Rest® camping mattress to the first multi-fuel stove, Cascade Designs has developed products that explorers, travelers, adventurers, outdoor enthusiasts and weekend campers can rely on to deliver optimum performance in the outdoors through exceptional engineering and quality.

For more information on Cascade Designs, please visit www.cascadedesigns.com or call us at 1-800-531-9531.

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