Submitted by: Ceren Bagatar of the Umea Institute of Design, Sweden

Project advisor: Peter Avondoglio

Rescue Bottle was selected because it takes an existing solution and customizes it to be utilized in flood conditions. 

Project statement

The increase in world population, industrialization and urbanization bring out serious environmental problems. Beside the scarcity of fresh water, the world is facing a climate change problem and every year it struggles with serious floods and hurricanes.

The flood condition is a different kind of problem area where there is plenty of water sources, but all is contaminated and hazardous for human consumption. Depending on its location, floodwater might mix with chemicals, toxins, septic and animal carcasses. It also mixes with and contaminates surface water, ground water and drinking water supplies. Therefore flood-hit people in developing countries are under risk of serious diarrheal diseases and they need immediate safe water assistance.

Rescue Bottle is designed to be used by flood-hit people to obtain a fast emergency rescue drink under flood conditions. It is a water purifier and dioralyte supplier that is used to replace body fluids lost in emergency situations under flood conditions. It filters contaminated water through a reverse osmosis membrane using the osmotic pressure of a draw solution, which is made of concentrated dioralyte mixed with basic nutrients. The final mixed drink is basically a mixture of filtered pure water and dioralyte mixed with essential nutrients that is needed by flood-hit kids and adults in order to recover their lost of body fluids and treat diarrhea.

The rescue bottle consists of a reverse osmosis membrane, a concentrated solution refill, a 500 ml capacity empty liquid container and a mouthpiece. The reverse osmosis membrane filters brackish water into pure water using the driving force of highly concentrated dioralyte solution. The concentrated solution refill is filled in with a highly concentrated solution of dioralyte mixed with basic nutrients that is enough to get 15 times of 500ml of mixed drink. The empty container is filled in with the mixture of pure water and dioralyte and used with a mouthpiece that enables multi-user usage in relief camps and other community areas. Rescue bottles can be used in flood relief camps, or given away to communities with multiple mouthpieces with a cost of between $20–50. They can also be stationed in the floodwater in areas where complete disaster management services cannot reach.