A team at the University of Southampton has developed a revolutionary ultra-sonic attachment for taps for water purification. The device works with cold water, minimal additives and consumes as much electrical power as a light bulb. The device uses less water and power than the equivalent pressure washer and is also far less damaging as the stream pressure is less that 1/100th that of a pressure washer. The team hopes to develop products based on the ultrasonic nozzle which can fit on the end of a tap or hose.
Another advantage is that it generates far less runoff and aerosol (tiny atmospheric particles of water that can carry contaminates into the air to then settle and contaminate other surfaces). As it is able to use cold water, energy is saved on heating water, say its developers. The new nozzle generates both bubbles and ultrasound.
Both travel down the water stream to the dirty surface and there the bubbles act as microscopic “smart scrubbers” seeking and entering crevices to remove dirt there using shear forces in the same way that currents in a babbling brook can strip off riverbank soil.
