LifeStraw Community

Target SDGs

Market Suggested Retail Price

$395.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Community, Public Sector Agencies

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

This product is supplied by Vestergaard Frandsen and Adventure Gear.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include Waterbackpack PAUL, Grifaid Family Filter, and LifeSaver® Jerrycan 20000UF.

Regions

Worldwide

Manufacturing/Building Method

Mass-produced

Intellectural Property Type

Select Type

User Provision Model

This product is available for online purchase on Lifestraw and other sites such as Adventure Gear and IndiaMart (India).

Distributions to Date Status

In October 2014 Vestergaard Frandsen distributed 1,646 LifeStraw Community purifiers to 301 schools, reaching over 157,975 school children in that region. By the end of 2019, the LifeStraw Give Back Program should have reached 1870 schools, 3,367,145 students with 1 year of safe water, and 12,220 filters delivered.

Design Specifications

Design specification of LifeStraw Community includes:

Filtration technology: 0.02 micron membrane ultrafilter cartridge
Purifier lifetime: 25,000 gallons (100,000 liters)
Flow Rate:12 liters/hour
Food grade materials (US FDA 21 CFR standards)
Total capacity: 50 liters (13 gallons)
Weight: 17lbs (8kgs) (without water)
Size (assembled): 22.’’ x 22.’’ x 33.5 ‘’
Size (box): 22.4’’ x 22.4’’ x 24.4‘’
Replaceable purification cartridge
All parts are recyclable

The operational procedure of LifeStraw Filter:

25 liters of untreated water is poured into the top of the unit, also called the dirty water container
The pre-filter removes coarse particles larger than 0.080 mm
The hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane cartridge then stops all suspended particles and pathogens larger than 20 nanometres (including all bacteria, viruses, and protozoan cysts).
Particles and microbes larger than 20 nanometres stay on the dirty side of the membrane and clean/purified water passes through the membrane
Purified water can be collected from any of the four taps
The backwashing handle allows semiautomatic backwashing; when it is pulled down and released, pathogens and dust particles on the dirty side of the membrane are lifted by backpressure and then flushed out into the red backwash container.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

There is no technical support provided and users are expected to maintain the product on their own. However, LifeStraw has available a user’s manual, a Water Resource Guide, and online videos detailing the appropriate use of this product.

Replacement Components

The ultrafiltration hollow-fiber membrane cartridge can be replaced.

Lifecycle

The product includes a 1-year warranty and has an expected lifetime of 2-3 years with the total filtration capacity of 70,000 – 100,000 liters before replacement.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

This filter was designed to reduce 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.999 % of viruses, and 99.99% of protozoan cysts meeting the standard for the “highly protective” category of household water treatment options by the World Health Organization and US EPA guidelines.

Vetted Performance Status

Water quality testing performed by WHO determined 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.999 % of viruses, and 99.99% of protozoan cysts removal.

Safety

No known safety hazards are related to this product. However, users must be cautious by avoiding cross-contamination of the clean water container and should not consume water from the back flush area.

Complementary Technical Systems

LifeStraw Community purifiers work best with a table mount or a raised surface.

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

LifeStraw Community complies with USEPA Protocol and WHO regulations and standards.

Evaluation methods

The manufacturer cites the removal of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa as evaluation criteria under the USEPA and WHO Protocol.

Other Information

Video by Vestergaard on the LifeStraw Community product.

LifeStraw products have amounted several awards over the years.

Donations are accepted through the Lifestraw Water Fund to make available this product in vulnerable communities or in emergency settings.

Readers can view the story of change about the LifeStraw company.