Purification system aims to make canal water drinkable

A technology firm has developed a new form of water purification that it is hoped will end reliance on bottled water.

Around 24,000 homes in Scotland depend on bottled water which is expensive and unsustainable for the environment, or private water supplies which are expensive and difficult to maintain.

Of 1.3 billion plastic bottles bought daily, nearly 45 per cent end up in the ocean after a single use, breaking down into microplastics, while traditional water purifiers often end up in landfill as they deteriorate quickly.

Technology company IF created a miniature vapour compression distillation system without consumable parts or chemicals, which works in 45 minutes to begin purifying previously untreatable water.

Years of research, design, prototyping and tests helped with the development of technology proven to provide the purest water from previously unusable sources, including from the Glasgow canal water. IF also carries out hundreds of tests through independent, accredited laboratories.

Duncan Peters, founder and CEO of IF, said: "Access to safe drinking water is a global problem that is only getting harder as global warming, ageing infrastructure, industrial waste and modern contaminants gathers pace. This is why accelerating the path to clean, reliable water is so incredibly important in our lifetime.

"Water is also becoming harder to purify. It's estimated that 93 per cent of the world's piped water now contains some form of microplastics, hormones, pesticides or other heavy metals. Traditional purifiers are just not designed to solve these problems, and as a result we're turning more and more to environmentally damaging plastic bottles.

"Globally, we're using one million bottles of water every minute and that's because we don't trust the water quality that we have. Around 80 per cent of single use plastic ends up in landfill, or eventually in the ocean poisoning the earth and making the problem worse for the next generation.

"Far more people are starting to pay attention to what's in their drinking water as we learn more about so-called forever chemicals - which fail to fully break down - and other contaminants. At IF, we want to see a future where you can turn on a tap anywhere in the world and know that you have crystal clear water that is free from pollutants, 365 days a year.

"We're starting that mission in Scotland where around 3.5 per cent of the population currently rely on off-grid water sources every day. Because our unique purification technology can clean water from previously untreatable sources, we are confident that we can make a significant and immediate impact on access to safe and reliable water supplies globally."

Portsonachan Hotel and Lodges, located on Loch Awe, Scottish Highlands, buys over 90,000 litres of bottled water each year due to peated water supplies which create "brown water", adding an additional STG13,000 ($A24,661) to its operating costs.

Hotelier David Parker said: "We've tried several different and more traditional purification methods over the years, including a STG30,000 centralised system that has never worked. Relying on bottled water has been our only solution up until now.

"Sustainability is core to our values but we also need reliable, crystal clear water. We need a solution that is low maintenance, reliable and easy to install."