Ceramic Pot Filters treat water borne disease.
Isabelle Gensburger
October 2011
The flow rate can be increased by:
1. increasing the porosity of the filter, by increasing the quantity of burn-out material in the clay mix; and
2. increasing the pore size, either by
–
changing the particle size distribution of the burnout material, or by
–
changing the maximum firing temperature.
The bacteria removal effectiveness is only compromised when increasing the pore size
Luke Moilanen
Ashlee Vincent
Rabi Gyawali
Dr. John Gierke
May 18, 2012
Michigan Technological University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
A United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) survey reported that 75% of the 28 systems
surveyed no longer function (Webster and Roebuck, 2001). This technology has various aspects to
be considered when deciding upon implementation of such a system, one of which to be considered
in conjunction with reliability is environmental impact as compared with other water treatment
technologies currently available. One of the most technologically appropriate alternatives to centralized
water treatment systems for implementation in the interior Suriname is the utilization of ceramic filters
in individual homes of the community.
Economics might suggest that point-of-use ceramic filters would be financially advantageous over
centralized water treatment. Differences in environmental impacts are less obvious. On one hand, a
centralized system requires more materials but the energy requirements are low (solar) and practically
have no emissions. Ceramic filters require firing a kiln and mining and processing clay, which would
cause recurring emissions. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to quantitatively measure
environmental impacts for the creation, transport, use, and disposal of a given product or process. The
goal of the LCA was to analyze individual steps in the product life cycle to provide an overall quantitative
measure such as energy consumption and/or global warming potential, as well as serve as a mechanism
from which individual steps within the product life cycle can be compared to determine which particular
step contributes the largest amount to the overall total.
PATH partners with local agency to explore new way to offer residents water filters
Clean water is scarce in Kenya’s Nyanza Province, located
on the shores of Lake Victoria. People in this region often
collect their drinking water from shallow wells, nearby
streams, or through rainwater catchment. The water
is often contaminated, leading to a high prevalence of
diarrheal disease in the region. To combat disease caused
by unsafe drinking water, PATH’s Safe Water Project has
been evaluating various distribution models for placing
water treatment devices in low-income households in
multiple countries.
When are ceramic water filters appropriate?
Community Choices Tool for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Pacific Institute
Household Water Treatment Solutions Criteria Report
Criteria Used for Ranking Household Water Treatment Solutions
Below you can view information that clarifies how your individual answers to the questions impacted the Community Choices Tool’s
recommendations for technologies and approaches that are appropriate for your situation and needs.
NOTE: This demonstration prototype of the Community Choices Tool contains rankings for the few solutions we have in the database. We
envision that once fully developed, the Community Choices Tool will be able to evaluate and rank hundreds of technologies and approaches
for the entire WASH sector, and from those it will be able to create fully customized solutions for each user (rather than the static solutions it
has now).
By Robert Bain*, Jim Wright**, Hong Yang**, Steve Pedley^, Stephen Gundry*, and Jamie Bartram^^
*Water and Health Research Centre, University of Bristol, United Kingdom (UK); **University of Southampton, UK;Â ^University of Surrey, UK; ^^The Water Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
“This work shows that interpretation of the MDG indicator as a surrogate for safe water can lead to substantial overestimates of the population using safe drinking-water and, consequently, also overestimates the progress made towards the 2015 MDG target. There are important policy implications – whilst progress has been made, adjusting for water quality shows that much of the world’s population still lacks access to safe water.”
Journal of
Humanitarian
Engineering
Volume 1, Issue 1 – May 2012
ISSN 2200-4904
Mishant Kumar
Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Mishant.S.Kumar@gmail.com
ABSTRACT: Arsenic in drinking water is a hazard to human health and is a known carcinogen
(Mass 1992). Resource Development International – Cambodia (RDIC) has researched, developed,
and manufactured simple ceramic water filters (CWF) which have proved to be extremely effective
in removing pathogens from water. These filters however, do not remove arsenic from water, which
exists in the source water at levels above the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline of 10μg/L.
The aims of this literature based study were to investigate conventional and non-conventional
arsenic removal processes, and to discuss the options for applying an arsenic removal technology
to the CWFs produced by RDIC. It was found that conventional arsenic removal technologies are
difficult to implement in the context of household water treatment in a developing country. This
study suggested that non-conventional arsenic removal technologies shall be more effective and
that field studies must be undertaken to verify the success of such methods.
Ceramic, filter, arsenic, removal, household.
Iron and Manganese are naturally occurring metals commonly found in both surface water and groundwater.
In January 2012, MSABI determined that a review of possible methods for the removal of iron and manganese from source water should be undertaken. It is important to note that, in accordance with WHO guidelines, in most naturally occurring concentrations (including the levels measured to date in the Kilombero District), iron and manganese do not pose a health risk in terms of human consumption. In point of fact, both iron and manganese are important elements for human consumption and are dietary requirements.
Because MSABI water points access aquifers at depths of up to 30 metres below ground level (reaching into and sometimes through rock deposits), relatively high concentrations of iron and manganese are more likely to exist in MSABI water.
In February 2012, a relevant example relating to community perceptions of safe and unsafe drinking water with respect to the presence of iron and manganese was presented to the MSABI lab.
Excerpt from:Â Iron Removal Summary
Storing Drinking-water in Copper-pots Kills Contaminating Diarrhoeagenic Bacteria
Abstract “Microbially-unsafe water is still a major concern in most developing countries. Although many water-purification methods exist, these are expensive and beyond the reach of many people, especially in rural areas. Ayurveda recommends the use of copper for storing drinking-water. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of copper-pot on microbially-contaminated drinking-water. The antibacterial effect of copper-pot against important diarrhoeagenic bacteria, including Vibrio cholerae O1, Shigella flexneri 2a, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, Salmonella enterica Typhi, and Salmonella Paratyphi is reported. When drinking-water (pH 7.83±0.4; source: ground) was contaminated with 500 CFU/mL of the above bacteria and stored in copper-pots for 16 hours at room temperature, no bacteria could be recovered on the culture medium. Recovery failed even after resuscitation in enrichment broth, followed by plating on selective media, indicating loss of culturability. This is the first report on the effect of copper on S. flexneri 2a, enteropathogenic E. coli, and Salmonella Paratyphi. After 16 hours, there was a slight increase in the pH of water from 7.83 to 7.93 in the copper-pots while the other physicochemical parameters remained unchanged. Copper content (177±16 ppb) in water stored in copper-pots was well within the
permissible limits of the World Health Organization. Copper holds promise as a point-of-use solution for microbial purification of drinking-water, especially in developing countries.”
Key words: Bacteria; Copper; Diarrhoea; Drinking-water; Vibrio cholerae; India
Download: (163Kb Adobe Acrobat PDF)
Storing Drinking-water in Copper-pots Kills Contaminating Diarrhoeagenic Bacteria
“The health consequences of inadequate water and sanitation services include an estimated 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 1.9 million deaths each year, mostly among young children in developing countries. Diarrheal diseases lead to decreased food intake and nutrient absorption, malnutrition, reduced resistance to infection, and impaired physical growth and cognitive development. Since 1996, a large body of work has been published that has examined the health impact of interventions to improve water quality at the point-of-use through household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS).
Five interventions – chlorination, solar disinfection, ceramic filtration, slow sand filtration, and PUR – have been proven to reduce diarrhea in users in developing countries and improve the microbiological quality of stored household water and are discussed below. The most appropriate HWTS option for a location depends on existing water and sanitation conditions, water quality, cultural acceptability, implementation feasibility, availability of HWTS technologies, and other local conditions. For more information, contact (email in document). Photos courtesy: PSI, PFP, Hydraid, EAWAG, P&G.”
Download Pdf: http://potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/CDC%201-pager-proven-new-logo.pdf
Ceramic filter pilot projects (2002-2006) in Cambodia have yielded promising results that suggest these
interventions can be effective in improving drinking water quality and can contribute to substantial
health gains in populations using them.
“Executive Summary
Household-scale ceramic filtration technology is considered among the most promising options for treating drinking water at the household level in developing countries (Lantagne 2001; Sobsey 2002; Roberts 2004). Its use is Cambodia is widespread and growing, with the involvement of local and international NGOs and government efforts that have been supported by UNICEF, WSP-Cambodia, and others. Although several different kinds of ceramic filters are used for household-scale water treatment worldwide, among the most widespread is that promoted by Potters for Peace, a US and Nicaragua-based NGO; the Cambodian version is known as the Ceramic Water Purifier (CWP). It has been used in Cambodia since its introduction in 2001. Based on early successes in Cambodia (Roberts 2004), further investment in the technology is planned by NGOs and the Cambodian government. Stakeholders identified evaluation of the CWP experience to date in the country as vital to inform the scale up process and to identify lessons learned in the first 4 years of production and implementation. Part of this evaluation was an independent study commissioned by UNICEF and WSP-Cambodia to critically examine two major implementation efforts to date in Cambodia undertaken by the two main producers, IDE and RDI. The goals of the study were to characterize the microbiological effectiveness and health impacts of the CWP in target populations, and to identify successes and potential challenges facing the scale-up and implementation of the technology. The results of the study and program recommendations are presented here.”
http://www.potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/926200724252_eap_cambodia_filter.pdf
109-790-1-PB.pdf
Anand PLAPPALLY1, 3,*, Haoqian CHEN1,2, Wasiu AYINDE4, Samson ALAYANDE4, Andrew USORO1,7, Katie C. FRIEDMAN1,2, Enoch DARE4, Taiwo OGUNYALE6, Ismaiel YAKUB1,6
Megan LEFTWICH5, Karen MALATESTA2, Ron RIVERA8, Larry BROWN3, Alfred SOBOYEJO3
and Winston SOBOYEJO1,5
Abstract
Field study and surveys were conducted to evaluate interdisciplinary parameters influencing the health of people using ceramic filters for water purification. A total of 52 families were distributed with filters at Eweje Village, Odeda local government area, Ogun State, Nigeria. Surveys contained questions related to hygiene, health, water source and treatment, socio-economic and educational status of people and their use of clay ceramic water filters. Several parameters were studied including time of use of water filter, maintainability, education, societal economics, and social the status of the people using the filters. There was interdependence between these parameters. Health of the Eweje village community was greatly influenced by the number of people using the filter, the time of filter usage, education, maintainability, access to medical facilities, and economic status. A novel multi parameter multivariate regression approach clearly enumerates the hierarchy of the effects of the influencing variables on the health of Eweje community. Apart from population and time of filter use, access to medical services also influenced health of this rural community.
Key words: Rural, Health, Water, Filters, Education, Regression, Africa
Anand PLAPPALLY1, 3,*, Haoqian CHEN1,2, Wasiu AYINDE4, Samson ALAYANDE4, Andrew USORO1,7, Katie C. FRIEDMAN1,2, Enoch DARE4, Taiwo OGUNYALE6, Ismaiel YAKUB1,6
Megan LEFTWICH5, Karen MALATESTA2, Ron RIVERA8, Larry BROWN3, Alfred SOBOYEJO3
and Winston SOBOYEJO1,5
1Princeton Institute of Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM), 70 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA;
2Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Olden Street, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
3FABE Department, The Ohio State University, 590 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
4University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, Africa;
5Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, 08544, USA;
6Eweje Village, Nigerian Ministry of Health, Federal Government of Nigeria, Africa;
7Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA;
8Potters for Peace, Ceramic Water Filter Program, Managua, Nicaragua;
Received: 29.10.2010 Accepted: 22.2.1011 Published: 19.5.2011
Who-report-on-scaling-up.pdf
Prepared by:
Thomas F. Clasen, JD, PhD
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Public Health and Environment
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health
World Health Organization
Geneva 2009
SUMMARY
Providing safe, reliable, piped-in water to every household is an essential goal, yielding optimal health gains while contributing to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for poverty reduction, nutrition, childhood survival, school attendance, gender equity and environmental sustainability. While strongly committed to this goal and to incremental improvements in water supplies wherever possible, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others have called for targeted, interim approaches that will accelerate the heath gains associated with safe drinking-water for those whose water supplies are unsafe…
Read more on Scaling Up Household Water Treatment Among Low-Income Populations…
Who-report-on-scaling-up.pdf
Prepared by:
Thomas F. Clasen, JD, PhD
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Public Health and Environment
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health
World Health Organization
Geneva 2009
SUMMARY
Providing safe, reliable, piped-in water to every household is an essential goal, yielding optimal health gains while contributing to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for poverty reduction, nutrition, childhood survival, school attendance, gender equity and environmental sustainability. While strongly committed to this goal and to incremental improvements in water supplies wherever possible, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others have called for targeted, interim approaches that will accelerate the heath gains associated with safe drinking-water for those whose water supplies are unsafe…
Brief translation Of Results
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF NICARAGUA
Center for the Research of Aquatic Resources of Nicaragua
REPORT ON THE EFFICEINCY OF CERAMIC FILTERS IN THE REMOVAL OF ORANISISMS WHICH ARE INDICATORS OF
CONTAMINATED WATER (COLIFORMES, E. COLI AND ESTREPTOCOCOS FECALES).
Brief translation Of Results
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF NICARAGUA
Center for the Research of Aquatic Resources of Nicaragua
REPORT ON THE EFFICEINCY OF CERAMIC FILTERS IN THE REMOVAL OF ORANISISMS WHICH ARE INDICATORS OF
CONTAMINATED WATER (COLIFORMES, E. COLI AND ESTREPTOCOCOS FECALES).
WHY IT IS SO HARD TO GET SAFE WATER TO THE POOR – AND SO PROFITABLE TO SELL IT TO THE RICH
BY URS HEIERLI (Draft Version)
About this publication
WHY IT IS SO HARD TO GET SAFE WATER TO THE POOR – AND SO PROFITABLE TO SELL IT TO THE RICH
BY URS HEIERLI (Draft Version)
About this publication
Author: Urs Heierli is an economist (Ph.D., University of St. Gallen). From 1987 to 1999 he served as country director of SDC – the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Bangladesh and India. During a subsequent sabbatical, he wrote the study ‘Poverty Alleviation as a Business’ and then joined the Employment and Income Division at SDC head office in Berne. In November 2003, he launched his own consulting company, msd consulting (Markets, Sustainability and Development) in Berne, to focus further on the market creation approach to development.
Foreword: François Muenger, Senior Water Advisor, SDC
Peer review: Armon Hartmann, former Senior Water Advisor, SDC
Editor: Paul Osborn, Médiateurs, Netherlands
Photos: Urs Heierli, Population Services International (Waterguard), G. Allgood, Procter & Gamble (PUR Photos), Antenna Technologies (WATA photos), SODIS Foundation (SODIS new designs)
Design/layout:Isabelle Christ, Claudia Derteano
Copyright: SDC – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Employment and Income Division / Urs Heierli (msd consulting), Berne
1st Edition: March 2008, printed in India
Copies: Hard copies are available from:
SDC Social Development Division (sodev@deza.admin.ch) and
SDC Employment and Income Division; (e-i@deza.admin.ch)
Electronic copies can be downloaded from:
www.deza.admin.ch/themes; www.poverty.ch/safewater; www.antenna.ch
Film clips: A companion CD with many film clips is in the back cover of this book. The clips are also available for download from www.poverty.ch/safewater.
This publication is supported by: Employment and Income Division and Social Development Division
SDC – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Freiburgstrasse 130
CH-3003 Berne
Switzerland
This publication is co-published by:
Antenna Technologies
29, rue de Neuchâtel
CH-1201 Geneva
Switzerland
www.antenna.ch
Kristina Bogdanov, Assistant Professor, Fine Arts Department, Ohio Wesleyan University,
Delaware, Ohio
Emily Koly, BFA student, Fine Arts Department, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio
Abstract
One of the most commonly promoted, and used, water filters, in developing countries, is the Filtron ceramic filter. The most commonly used clay, in the production of the Filtron ceramic filter, is red clay. In the United States, Redart is the most commonly used and distributed red clay. Redart is mined by Cedar Heights in Ohio. Eight different clay body formulations were made for testing, each formula had different ratios of ingredients: Redart, sawdust, ball clays, play sand, and water. A total of 24 filters were produced, fired, and tested. Later, to compare flow rate performance, water was filtered through each filter for 3 consecutive days. The flow rates varied from 0.5 to 2 liters per hour.
Read more on Analysis of Redart Clay in Filtron Water Filters…
Kristina Bogdanov, Assistant Professor, Fine Arts Department, Ohio Wesleyan University,
Delaware, Ohio
Emily Koly, BFA student, Fine Arts Department, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio
Abstract
One of the most commonly promoted, and used, water filters, in developing countries, is the Filtron ceramic filter. The most commonly used clay, in the production of the Filtron ceramic filter, is red clay. In the United States, Redart is the most commonly used and distributed red clay. Redart is mined by Cedar Heights in Ohio. Eight different clay body formulations were made for testing, each formula had different ratios of ingredients: Redart, sawdust, ball clays, play sand, and water. A total of 24 filters were produced, fired, and tested. Later, to compare flow rate performance, water was filtered through each filter for 3 consecutive days. The flow rates varied from 0.5 to 2 liters per hour.
Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 927–933
V I N K A A . O Y A N E D E L – C R A V E R A N D
J A M E S A . S M I T H *
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400742,
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4742
Cylindrical colloidal-silver-impregnated ceramic filters for household (point-of-use) water treatment were manufactured
and tested for performance in the laboratory with respect to flow rate and bacteria transport.
http://potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oyanedel-craver-and-smith-est-2008.pdf
Joseph Mark Brown
A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
Chapel Hill 2007
ABSTRACT
JOSEPH MARK BROWN: EFFECTIVENESS OF CERAMIC FILTRATION FOR
DRINKING WATER TREATMENT IN CAMBODIA
(Under the direction of Mark D. Sobsey, Ph.D.)
For the estimated 66% of Cambodians without access to improved drinking water sources and the potentially much greater percentage without consistent access to microbiologically safe water, point-of-use water treatment coupled with appropriate storage to prevent recontamination is a promising option for securing access to safe drinking water. The ceramic water purifier (CWP) is an emerging point-of-use water treatment technology that is made locally in Cambodia and in several other developing countries based on a design originally developed in Latin America in the 1980s. Despite the filter’s increasingly widespread promotion and implementation as a public health intervention within Cambodia and worldwide, its effectiveness in reducing waterborne microbes and diarrheal disease in users has not been adequately characterized. This dissertation examines: (i) the microbiological effectiveness of locally produced ceramic filters in Cambodia against bacterial and viral surrogates in the laboratory and in field use; (ii) the health impacts of the CWP and a modified CWP in a randomized, controlled trial in a rural/peri-urban village; and (iii) the continued use, microbiological effectiveness, and sustained health impacts of the CWP after up to 44 months in household use in three provinces of Cambodia.
http://potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/joe-brown-dissertation.pdf
Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Options in Developing Countries:
A Review of Current Implementation Practices
By Daniele S. Lantagne, Robert Quick, and Eric D. Mintz1
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Note: This draft paper was commissioned the Navigating Peace Initiative, a project launched by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsÂ’ Environmental Change and Security Program and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For more information, please visit www.wilsoncenter.org/water.
http://potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/household_water_treatment.pdf
Conclusion
HWTS systems are proven, low-cost interventions that have the potential to provide safe water to those who will not have access to safe water sources in the near term, and thus significantly reduce morbidity due to waterborne diseases and improve the quality of life. HWTS implementations have developed from small pilot projects to national-scale programs, and now face questions on how to reach the more than 1.1 billion in need of safe drinking water, and how to effectively work with other water, sanitation, and hygiene programs to achieve the greatest health impact. The active, diverse, and expanding community of researchers, private companies, faith-based organizations, international and local NGOs, and donors interested in answering these questions can play a major role in helping the world achieve the Millennium Development Goal to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without access to safe water (World Bank Group, 2004). To achieve this goal, and to surpass it, will require continued collaboration, research and development, and investment, but it is our best hope for rapidly reducing the burden of waterborne disease and death in developing countries.
Master of Science Thesis in Civil Engineering
Sanitary Engineering Section
Department of Water Management
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Delft University of Technology
Doris van Halem
November 2006
Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF assessed in 2000 that 1.1 billion people do not have access to ‘improved drinking-water sources’. Interventions in hygiene, sanitation and water supply make proven contributors to controlling this disease burden. The ambitious target established in the ‘Millennium Development Goal1’ (MDG # 7) is “halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation by 2015”. Providing
more than half a billion people with safe drinking water is a major task, especially because most of them are living in rural areas. Despite major efforts to deliver safe, piped, community water to the worldÂ’s population, the reality is that water supplies delivering safe water will not be available to these people on such a short term. According to the WHO a short-term solution to meet the basic need of safe drinking water can be found in household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS).
http://potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/finalcsfreport_29-10-2-van-dalem1.pdf
Presented to :
Potters for Peace
August – 2005
Enrique Campbell, Consultant
Managua, Nicaragua
Introduction
Several studies on the ceramic filter promoted by Potters for Peace have been carried out previously. Nevertheless, since the CSP model started to be distributed it has not been defined for how much time the filter can removes bacteria and parasites effectively. An approach on this issue was conducted in 1999 by the Aquatic Resources Research Center (CIRA, in Spanish) of the Nicaragua National University (UNAN) along a research work on the CSP model. For that study a seven years old filtering element was tested for total coliform, fecal coliform an fecal streptococcus removal. The esults obtained showed that the CSP was capable of removing all the total coliform and fecal coliform organism, but also increase slightly the concentration of fecal streptococcus (see more details in Lantagne 2001). It should noted that the seven years old filtering element that was used for the test was one of the first prototypes, and it was a little bit smaller than those that exist and are distributed today which is why the mentioned results couldnÂ’t be taken as conclusive for the new type of CSP model.
http://potterswithoutborders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/filter-longevity-study.pdf
Univ-of-col-hydraulic-properties-study.pdf
Exec-summary-univ-of-col-study.pdf
Christopher J. Fahlin
Undergraduate Independent Study Research
University of Colorado at Boulder
College of Engineering
Advising Professor: Dr. Angela Bielefeldt
March 7, 2003
Abstract
This study investigated the hydraulic properties of the Potters For Peace filter in greater detail than previous studies by Sten Eriksen and Daniele Lantagne. Hydraulic properties such as the hydraulic conductivity and tortuosity are important because they help determine the contact time of pathogens in the water with silver to provide inactivation. Two laboratory tests were conducted using both experimental and numerical methods for attaining the results. Unfortunately, the hydraulic conductivity results were questionable for many reasons and the tortuosity results varied considerably due to the porosity variability results. This research does not conclusively describe the hydraulic properties for the PFP ceramic filter, but it does have model improvements and many recommendations for future research. Future work resulting from this research will hopefully lead to accurate and conclusive results about the hydraulic properties of this economically feasible and effective filter.
Keywords
Engineers Without Borders, Potters For Peace, Filtrón, Appropriate technology, ceramic filter, colloidal
silver, developing countries, drinking water, point-of-use treatment.
Cwp-cambodia-field-tests-2003-10.pdf
IDE Working Paper No. 1
October 2003
Michael Roberts, M.S.
International Development Enterprises
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report summarizes results from a year-long pilot project in Cambodia to test the Ceramic Water Purifier, a low-cost household water treatment technology that removes microbiological contamination at the point of use. The pilot project was conducted by International Development Enterprises (IDE) with financial assistance from the Health and Nutrition Initiatives Fund supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The Ceramic Water Purifier (CWP) consists of a porous, pot-shaped filter element made of kiln-fired clay and impregnated with colloidal silver. The ceramic filter element is set in a plastic receptacle tank with a lid and a spigot. Raw water is poured into the filter element and seeps through the clay producing potable water at a rate of 2 to 3 litres per hour. The filter element holds approximately 10 litres, allowing a family to produce 20 to 30 litres of water
per day with two to three fillings. Monthly maintenance consists of scrubbing the ceramic filter element to unclog pores and washing the receptacle tank and spigot to prevent bacterial growth. The current cost of the CWP is approximately $7.50 for a complete unit (including manufacturer and retailer profit but not including transportation) and approximately $4.50 for the filter element alone, which needs to be replaced about once every two to three years.
Comparative_analysis_of_the_fltron_and_biosand_water_filterseditms.pdf
William F. Duke, MD,1* Rick Nordin2 and Asit Mazumder2
1University of Victoria, Restoration of Natural Systems Program , Victoria, British Columbia,
2University of Victoria, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia
* Corresponding author;
Abstract
For many of the 1.1 billion people who now lack access to safe water, affordable water filters designed for use in individual households provide a practical alternative to municipal water treatment systems. Two of the most commonly promoted filters in developing countries are the Filtron ceramic filter and the BioSand intermittent slow sand filter.
To compare the performance of these two filters, pond water was put through each filter for 30 consecutive days. Turbidity, TOC, DOC, E. coli and total coliform counts were recorded daily for the source water and for the filtered water from each filter. Flow rates and frequency of cleaning were also recorded for each filter. Both filters lowered the turbidity, TOC, DOC, and bacterial counts significantly.
The Filtron filter was more effective in removing bacteria, but it was limited by flow rates of only 1-2 liters per hour as well as the need for frequent cleaning. The biosand filter produced flow rates of about 20 liters per hour and did not require cleaning during the study period, but it was less effective in removing bacteria.
Bielefeldtmascaro05filtron.pdf
Angela R. Bielefeldt
Associate Professor, Dept. Civil, Environmental, & Arch. Engineering
University of Colorado – Boulder
Professor R. Scott Summers,
Chris Fahlin, Suzanne Givler, Kate Kowalski,
Katie Medina, Lucas Hollenkamp,
Anisha Malhotra, Heather Wright
Research Questions
• Hydrodynamic conditions during flow
– Contact time of pathogens with silver
• Physical removal vs Inactivation
– Filtration (and impacts of accumulated dirt within the
filter); if inactivation, potential for reactivation / repair
• Necessary to “pre treat” very turbid water?
– Particles clog filter too rapidly and decrease flow rate
• Quantitative understanding of colloidal silver’s
ability to kill bacteria and viruses
– “CT” concentration * contact time relationship?
– Long term effectiveness, as silver leaches away
– Bacterial “static” vs “cidal” – bioclogging over time?