Unsuitability of transparent polypropylene for solar water disinfection (SODIS) applications

O’Dowd, K., Sawant, B., Abeledo-Lameiro, M.J., Couso-Pérez, S., Yerulker, G., Nair, S., Polo-López, M.I., Gómez-Couso, H., Marasini, R., García-Gil, A., Marugán, J., Kanade, G., Dhodapkar, R., Pillai, S.C. and McGuigan, K.G. (2025) Unsuitability of transparent polypropylene for solar water disinfection (SODIS) applications. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13 (5). p. 118106. ISSN 2213-3437

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is a low-cost but effective process for obtaining safe drinking water at the household level in resource-poor environments. SODIS is a solar energy-driven method where inactivation of microorganisms occurs due to the effect of incident UV photons and/or increased water temperature. Consequently, the optical and mechanical properties of SODIS container materials play a critical role. Previously, we reported advanced weathering studies of 10 L polypropylene (PP) transparent jerrycans (TJCs) without UV stabiliser, which became extremely fragile after only 2 months of solar exposure, leading to a complete loss of structural integrity. Herein, we evaluate food-safe 10 L PP SODIS TJCs which have been enhanced with UV-stabiliser. We report that although TJCs with UV-stabiliser are durable and capable of achieving bacterial inactivation of > 4 Log Reduction Values for Escherichia coli, it does not sufficiently inactivate the protozoan pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum. UV-stabilized TJCs had lower disinfection rates despite having increased durability compared to previous TJC prototypes. We attribute this loss of microbicidal efficacy to poorer UV transmission caused by the addition of the UV-stabiliser. In addition, cytotoxicity studies of UV-stabilised PP TJCs revealed several cell viabilities dropping below 80 , indicating they were slightly cytotoxic, as per ISO-10993–5:2009. We conclude that, despite early indications, PP is ultimately not a suitable container material for long-term SODIS applications.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	SODIS container, Polypropylene, Pathogens, UV-stabiliser, Toxicity
Depositing User:	RED Unit Admin
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2025 09:52
Last Modified:	12 Aug 2025 09:52
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/20577

Actions (login required)

Edit Item