Looking back more than ten years ago, conditions of the rivers, canals, swamps, and marshes, were extremely deteriorated and polluted. People suffered because they were not able to make use of the water. The cause of the deterioration came partly from disposal of the garbage and waste water from houses, community, and industrial factories, directly into sewage disposal conduits or various water sources without prior treatment. Perhaps it was out of ignorance or lack of proper conscience and understanding of the relationship between living things and the environment, which cannot be dealt with separately. Unfortunately, Thailand still lacks a good and effective waste water treatment system because it entails quite a high investment.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was well aware of such problems and also deeply concerned about the resulting troubles. His Majesty granted initiatives to solve the problems by using various simple methods. In the initial effort during 1983-1987, His Majesty suggested the use of good water to alleviate the polluted water, which is known as "good water chases bad water". Another method involved the use of water hyacinth and assorted aquatic plants to filter waste water, which His Majesty called "evil overcomes evil". Such methods were capable of alleviating and effectively solving the problems to a certain extent.
Simultaneously, His Majesty the King designed an invention to help improve the water quality in various water sources. His Majesty used the local method of the villagers called "luk" (water wheel) as a model to invent an aerator which is simple yet highly efficient in treating waste water with satisfactory results. The invention is well known under the name "Chaipattana Aerator". His Majesty graciously consented for the Chaipattana Aerator to be patented under his name, and the patent was issued on February 2, 1993. It is the world's ninth aerator to be patented. The registration for the patent stemmed from His Majesty's intention for it to serve as a role model for Thai people to realize the importance of intellectual property registration and ways of utilizing our intellect for beneficial purposes.
Acclamation of His Majesty's Ingenuity Abroad