MSR/Stanford Venturi Doser

Target Countries

Bangladesh, Kenya

Target SDGs

Market Suggested Retail Price

$149.99

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Community

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

This product was implemented during a study in Kenya by Safe Water and Aids Project (SWAP) in partnership with Stanford University.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include PurAll Water Purification, Dispensers for Safe Water, Lotus Water Chlorine Dosing Device, and Zimba automatic chlorine dispenser.

Manufacturing/Building Method

The prototype is currently manufactured by MSR in Seattle. The chlorine solution can be sourced locally.

Intellectural Property Type

Trademarked

User Provision Model

The product is still in its prototype stage and cannot be acquired by users currently.

Distributions to Date Status

The product has been installed at 170 kiosks supplying to 10,000 people to measure long term performance.

Design Specifications

The MSR/Stanford Venturi Doser is installed directly into the water systems in public kiosks and automatically injects water with a precise dose of chlorine as it produces water for customers. The product uses the venturi effect, which means the product requires no moving parts or electricity. Liquid chlorine fills the chlorine tank which flows into the float tank. Water flows through the device from a larger to a smaller section and sucks an appropriate amount of liquid chlorine to treat the water before being discharged to the customer. The chlorinator uses commercially available Waterguard as its liquid source.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

During trials of the prototype technical support was provided by the manufacturer.

Replacement Components

Liquid chlorine

Lifecycle

10 years

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

The manufacturer cites a dosing of 1 ppm and 1.5 ppm free chlorine over a flow rate range of 20-40 L/min as performance criteria.

Vetted Performance Status

SWAP in partnership with Stanford University conducted a study across 170 water kiosks supplying to 10,000 people living in Bangladesh and Kenya. It was determined that point-of-chlorination reduced contamination of fecal indicator bacteria in drinking water by 70% and reduced child diarrhea in children by 23% (95% CI 9-35%; N=4227).

Safety

The World Health Organization (WHO) states free residual chlorine post chlorine dosing should not exceed 5 mg/L if it is to be considered for lifetime use.

Complementary Technical Systems

Filtration prior to treatment can reduce the amount of chlorine required if the source water is turbid.

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

Sodium hypochlorite products for drinking water treatment, used in the Venturi doser, comply with NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 to ensure chemicals are safe at maximum dose and impurities are below the maximum allowable limit. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality list Sodium Hypochlorite with concentrations between 0.5% and 1% as a point-of-use water treatment method.

Evaluation methods

The Venturi Doser is evaluated for the removal of faecal indicator bacteria (70%) at point-of-chlorination during randomized trials.

Other Information

None