US military fields new water filtration system

The US military has started receiving initial quantities of two new water filtration systems, the Expedition and the HydroWell, designed for individual and small unit operations. These are developed by Hydration Technologies Incorporated (HTI), Albany, and Oregon and can create drinkable water from any source through forward osmosis technology. The products of HTI use forward osmotic pressure created by the presence of sugars. The Expedition is a backpack design that uses a replaceable/removable filter cartridge to produce approximately one lire of clean water per hour. HydroWell attaches to standard water cans and can filter up to two liters of drinking water per hour. HTI has stated that the company's proprietary membrane has filtration properties similar to reverse osmosis membranes and thus contaminants, including viruses, and cysts cannot pass through. HTI first entered the military field under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program called the Next Generation Hydration System.