Integrated Microfiltration Filter and Pump for Portable Water Decontamination System

Light-weight, high-performance subcomponents, particularly filters and pumps, are needed to make a portable water purifier that can produce clean water from any source. At present, some of the principal problems that hamper this effort include the heavy weight of the pumps and their motors and the large size and fouling rate of pre-treatment filters. These problems may be overcome using Los Gatos Research's unique and innovative design to make microfabricated microfiltration sieve filters that simultaneously provide pumping capability. In Phase I, Los Gatos Research will develop a novel, hands-free, high-pressure (1000 pounds-per-square inch) and high flow-rate (1 liter-per-minute) pump integrated with a microfiltration filter that in total weighs only a few ounces, and integrate it in a complete purification system. This monolithically integrated pump obviates the need for heavy external pumps, and the microfiltration filter size is dramatically reduced by order of magnitude. Moreover, the pump mechanism may be reversed to provide a useful backflow that substantially reduces membrane fouling.