Photocatalytic enhancement of SODIS bottle

CHED 1116

Jonathan M. Carey, Luke H. Loetscher, and Joel E. Boyd. Department of Chemistry, Wayland Baptist University, 1900 W. 7th Street #226, Plainview, TX 79072
Titania was solvent deposited on the interior walls of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for the purpose of studying its photocatalytic activity in the sterilization of water containing E. coli. The bactericidal action, under direct solar illumination, of the titania-modified bottle was assessed in comparison with an unmodified PET bottle. The unmodified PET bottle is representative of the bottles utilized in the SODIS project of the World Health Organization. The titania-enhanced PET bottle showed a significant increase in the sterilization rate and resulted in a lower rate of bacterial re-growth than the unmodified PET bottle.