276 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AUTONOMOUS SOLAR WATER DECONTAMINATION SOLUTIONS FOR REMOTE AREAS E.A. Carpio, L. Sánchez, P. García, Juan M. Rodriguez* Center for the Development of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Av. Túpac Amaru 210, Lima 15333, Perú. *Corresponding author. E-mail address: jrodriguez@uni.edu.pe (Juan Rodriguez) ABSTRACT The global challenge of ensuring access to safe drinking water is most acute in remote communities and in the aftermath of natural disasters, where centralized infrastructure is either absent or compromised. To address this critical need, this paper summarizes a decade of technological evolution leading to recent field deployments. We have developed and field-tested fully autonomous, solar-powered water purification systems, ranging from personal units to town-scale solutions. These systems harness solar radiation as an energy source, utilizing it either to directly drive photochemical decontamination reactions or to generate electricity for powering decontamination devices. We present two distinct technical approaches concentrating and non concentrating optics: the first one employs parabolic or cylindrical compound parabolic collector (CPC) combined with catalyst supported glass piping; the second—designed specifically for disaster zones—is based on a novel TiO₂ catalyst film deposited onto an absorbent or a flexible polyethylene substrate. Positioning this catalytic film at the bottom of the reactor significantly enhanced treatment efficiency for phenol degradation or bacteria. In open-field experiments using naturally contaminated water with a high ambient bacterial load (3,480 CFU/100 mL), complete disinfection was achieved within just 15 minutes, demonstrating the system's rapid efficacy under realistic conditions. Furthermore, we report on pilot deployments in four Peruvian communities: initially in Locumba (Tacna), followed by three systems in different towns in Loreto. Each of these large-scale units produces up to 9 m³ of potable water per day and has demonstrated robust operation, automated maintenance, and consistent performance. The technologies developed herein offer vital alternative solutions for areas where surface water sources are unavailable or severely contaminated. The successful field validation of these systems confirms their technical viability and operational robustness. Collectively, they represent a scalable, sustainable, and immediately deployable solution for decentralized water purification, providing a transformative approach to achieving water security in off-grid, rural, and emergency scenarios KEYWORDS Water Decontamination, Solar radiation, disinfection, advanced materials, filtration, photocatalysis. 1. CONTEXT AND PROBLEM STATEMENT Access to drinking water in Peru has improved in recent years, yet significant disparities persist between urban and rural areas. By 2024, 98% of the urban population had access to basic drinking water services, compared to 87% in rural areas, reflecting since 2015 an increase of 3% and 13%, respectively. However, when considering safely managed drinking water—defined as services that are accessible, available, and free from contamination—coverage drops to 56% in urban areas and just 24% in rural areas. Relative to 2015, this represents a 3% decline in urban zones and a modest 4% gain in rural areas. Consequently, approximately 17 million Peruvians, half the country’s population, still lack access to safe water [1].
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