Just found this forum (bought a Ritter knife), and noticed it doesn't seem like anyone has heard about this product. It contains a flocculant (drops particles out of suspension) and a disinfectant. I've talked to a few people that have used it in relief work in Haiti and they say it works amazingly well, even in putrid water, it comes out clear and clean.

Here's a couple of links, first to their site, and second to a couple of CDC pages about it.

http://www.purpurifierofwater.com/

www.cdc.gov/safewater/publications_pages/options-pur.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/safewater/publications_pages/pubs_pur.htm

Seems to me it might make a better choice in survival kits than simple chlorine tablets.

Welcome aboard, speedemon.

Very interesting! Thanks for the link. I have used two different Pur filters in the past and both worked very well. So if they say it works, I believe them.

Wonder what the shelf life is?

Good news it is now available here. It was available to overseas
relief groups for several years and is an excellent product.
Costs about 1 cent per gallon of water for them to treat.

I don't know why they waited so long to make it available in the
US.

One of the issues they had with it during relief work was
that some was just handed out without a lot of information on
its use, and some folks were eating it in the belief it was
also medicine that could be taken for cases of water born
illness!

sounds like the answer to a flood-storm water problem.if i lived someplace where the water might become contaminated i would pick up a pack every few months when i went to Fleet Farm for bird seed and set them aside.boiling is ok but runs thru stove fuel better used for cooking.

Its actually made by Proctor & Gamble, but P&G here in Malaysia do not seem to be aware of it.

From the video's it seems to be a good answer. I liked that they included final filtering and methods of filtering. That told me that they know there solution isn't 100% but can be very effecent with aditional filtering to get "the big stuff" out.

I stumbled across this product at Minimus.biz and then found this CDC page that lists the flocculant as "ferrous sulfate" and the disinfectant as "calcium hypochlorite".

Is "calcium hypochlorite" the same chlorine treatment as household bleach, or is it the superior chlorine dioxide substance in Aqua Mira? Off the bat it seems to be the same as bleach.

If it's the same as bleach, then I was thinking 'what if you could find the ferrous sulfate on its own, use it as a standalone flocculant, then add over-the-counter Aqua Mira?'. The flocculation would remove a lot of nasty taste from river or swamp water, and would allow the Aqua Mira to work better. I trust chlorine dioxide more than hypochlorite when it comes to tough protozoan cysts like crypto.

Obviously it is lightweight stuff since only 0.14 ounces treats 2.5 gallons of water.

Thoughts?

Sodium hypochlorite, is the active ingredient in household bleach.

Bleach - Clorox

Pete

It looks like lab grade ferrous sulfate is commonly available at a reasonable price. There are different hydrate forms of it but I don't know if that's important or not.

Thanks for the link. Interesting that the process will deal with heavy metals and some chemical. I think I will get some.

Perhaps the EPA's certification program for water purification wasn't really set up to test a product like this? It seems to be a rather novel product for personal water purification.

Same reason why the Steripen isn't "certified"--not that it doesn't work, but the EPA doesn't have a test for a personal UV purifier like the Steripen.

Do may wish to do a search on using "alum" (hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate or potassium alum) as a flocculant. There are some youtube vids on its use in water purication. An alum block crystal can be a helpful bit of kit; stypic, anti-microbial, etc...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum

Possibly because it has been in use (the technique, not the product) for years. When I was in the Corps of Engineers in the late 60's we were using it. The WHO and the Wilderness Medical Society have been suggesting it as a possibility for years (I don't know how many). I have used alum for reducing turbidity in nasty places for a long time, always as a precursor to other techniques. Used in dirty water before filtering it makes the filter last LOTS longer. Also makes the chlorine work better. Use a normal amount, not several times that much. Very obvious if you use the detection strips from a MIOX system.

Respectfully,

Jerry