http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33222008/Rwanda-ceramic-water-filter-factory-project

This is a direct link to the Environ Foundation website:

http://www.environcorp.com/foundation/article.php?t=Foundation&list=Mission%20of%20The%20Foundation&id=4891&link=Mission%20of%20The%20Foundation

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Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has over the years been involved in technology development and transfer. In this regard, the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT) has won several local and international awards; in recognition of innovative technologies aimed at addressing the needs of rural and peri-urban population. Therefore the vision of KIST senior management is not only to maintain the achievements but to continuously undertake research and development activities that address the challenges of the society.

Amongst recent research and development initiatives is partnership between KIST and cooperative of local potters to develop water filters. The objective of the partnership is twofold. One is to adapt the colloidal silver ceramic water filter technology, and two, to transfer the knowledge to local potters and communities. Through this partnership, ceramic water filters shall be produced locally. As part of the initiative, a demonstration factory for colloidal silver ceramic water filter shall be built at Kacyiru Sector, Gasabo District.

The impact of this initiative is obvious: to reduce considerably the spread of water borne diseases and mortality rate among Rwandan population. Further, the technology transfer to the rural population will enable Rwanda to meet vision 2020, EDPRS and MDGs health targets.

WHAT IS SILVER CERAMIC WATER FILTER?

Ceramic water filter is a household water treatment unit. It is made out of clay, mixed with saw dust in order to make it light. The filter is then burnt; leading to pores resulting from burnout material saw dust. The pores facilitate the filtration process. Furthermore, once the ceramic filter is burnt, it is also coated with colloidal filter, which disinfects the water during the filtration process. Suffice it to say that silver ceramic filter removes only microbiological pathogens and does not remove chemical contaminants.

Photo of Colloidal Silver Ceramic Filter and Plastic Receptacle

In the meantime, it has been established that silver ceramic filter has capacity to improve health conditions of children and adults in Africa, Asia and South America. The cost of silver ceramic water filter ranges from UD$15 to US$25 in Africa. For instance, in Kenya the cost of one complete unit is 1400Ksh, which is around US$18. In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America, causing over 3,000 deaths in Nicaragua alone. An estimated 18 percent of the population of Nicaragua was affected by Mitch, and water and wastewater systems serving 804,000 people suffered over US$560 million in damage. The Unites States provided US$22 million in immediate humanitarian and food aid, and an additional US$8 million to start reconstruction activities in health, agriculture, and micro-finance. In this connection, silver ceramic water filter was investigated to be a solution to the drinking water at the household level. The filter investigated is 31 cm in diameter, 24 cm high, holds 7.1 Litres of water, and is shaped “like a coned flower pot as shown in the picture.

The filter sits inside the receptacle like a vegetable steamer sits inside the steaming pot. Receptacles for the filter is either 20-Liter plastic buckets or thrown ceramic pots. A plastic (or in the past bronze) spigot is attaches at the bottom of the receptacle. A plastic or ceramic lid is placed on top. Based on the results of filtration rate investigations, the following conclusions have been presented by Daniele from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 2001 : In the first use of the filter, the concentration of colloidal silver is not above the WHO and USEPA standards;

The concentration is significantly higher in the first use than the second, however, and it is recommended to maintain the policy of disposal of water from the first use of the filter.

Filters of factory flow rates range between 1.0 and 2.0 Litres/hour, and laboratory flow rates up to 3.0 Litres /hour;

Filters remove 100 percent of total coliform and fecal coliform.

Application of colloidal silver does not affect the filtration rate within the filter, or the conductivity or pH of the finished water.

The majority of the filtration occurs through the sides of the filter, and thus it is important to ensure application of colloidal silver within this area.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Between 2001 and 2006, Rwanda’s poverty rate decreased from 60.2% up to 56.9% of the population. The infant mortality rate (IMR) declined by 19.6%. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) fell by 22.4% . Nevertheless, the infant mortality rate is still high comparing to national targets of vision 2020, EDPRS (Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy) and MDGs.

(Table Not Included)

The main causes of morbidity, especially the causes of IMR are inadequate sanitation and unsafe drinking water. The coverage of adequate sanitation, in Rwanda, particularly was 38% in 2004, reported by Joint Monitoring Programme. This is less than a half of 100% coverage, which is the target of Rwanda in 2020. Inadequate sanitation and poor hygienic conditions affect dramatically the safety of drinking water. That is why, treatment of water at household level is very important to ensure the quality of drinking water.

Source of Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterforsudan/3471748230/

Silver ceramic water filters can be a solution at the household level because most of Rwandans in rural and urban areas are still drinking untreated water from surface water bodies, which have high turbidity and microbiological contamination. Therefore, the technology of colloidal silver ceramic water filters, able to remove microbial contamination and turbidity, can be embraced by local potters to improve their welfare and health conditions. Rwanda and any other countries in sub-Sahara Africa, the sources of drinking water for the majority of citizens are not 100% safe. In addition, the containers used to fetch and store drinking water at the household level are not clean enough. This is the other cause of water borne disease for under-five year children and adult. To make sure that children and adults have enough clean water in their families, they need colloidal silver ceramic water filters, which are able to filter between 2-3 litres/hour and remove 99% of biological contaminants from polluted water.

Film Production: Debra Brosseuk
Cooperative Project between Potters Without Borders, KIST (Kigali Institute of Science and
Technology, UNICEF, and the KACYIRU Pottery Cooperative.

Guy Mbayo K. (Unicef WASH Program)
Burt Cohen (Potters Without Borders)
Phocus Ntayombya (Unicef WASH Program)
Eugene Dusingizumuremyi (KIST Project Director)
Vice Rector John Mshana (KIST)
Dr. Jane Muita (Deputy Representative for UNICEF)
Honorable Minister Collette Ruhamya
Jean Paul (Cooperative moderne de potterie President)
Mugisha Esri (KIST Filter Produstion Officer)

Clean drinking water is a basic human right
many rwandans collect unclean water from streams and rivers,
80% of disease in Rwanda is water borne
Inadequate water supply exacerbates prevalent illness such as
malaria, respiratory illness, diarrheal disease, and malnutrition
simple household treatment of water is available.
A ceramic filter serves as a baterial barrier producing clean drinking water.

Eugene Dusingizumuremyi:
“My name is Eugene Dusingizumuremyi,
I am lecturer at KIST , I’m also incharge of this project of Ceramic Water Filters. These water filters are going to help Rwandans to avoid water borne disease because most of the people are using water from swamps, water from rivers without any prior treatment; then those filters will help to remove biological contaminants so that people will be having safe driking water.”

Vice Rector John Mshana (KIST):
“We are inagurating this initiative of bringing the technology of water filters to Rwanda.We know that in Rwanda about 80% of diseases that afflict Rwandans are water borne, so really we have a challange in Rwanda in terms of caring about the health of Rwandans. To look about water and the center of water that we are drinking, that is why KIST has parterners with local potters and Potters Without Borders to bring this technology of simple water filters to Rwanda, we believe it will go a long way to providing safe water to the people of Rwanda. Statistics show that only 38% of Rwandans get clean water, so there is a long way in order to reach 100%  that is … 100% of all Rwandans are entitled to clean and safe drinking water, so our main objective of KIST and the partners is to continue towards this problem by bringing this technology of filters which will enable Rwandans to have clean water. The health statistics are clear…”

Phocus Ntayombya (Unicef WASH Program):
“… Dr Phocus Ntayombya I work for UNICEF the WASH program. WASH is Water Sanitation and Hygene. Our major work involves in supporting many schools for children, but also communities, but also pays a lot of attention to health institutions, health centres, to make sure we can folow the child from home to school to helth centers and back home safe. Our major interest in this ceramic filters project is really to take advantage of the low cost sustainable technology which can be used. Its adaptable, to the conditions here in Rwanda, we have clay, and most importantly we have local communities who have good potters, you know they have wonderful skills in making pottery, so what we did, we have now decided to partner with them to make sure we can produce the ceramic water filters, with the advantage to you know provide safe drinking water, but also address their major preocupation of raising their income, you know they have been left behind, they are poor….”

Dr. Jane Muita (Deputy Representative for UNICEF):
“… You can put the water, dirty water, through and at the end the child drinks it and its safe. We can bring water with taps but its not safe, it still has to go through the process of removing the organisms that kill children. So for me today, I have something to say, because innovative technology is our business the people that have the knowledge must transmit it to be used, in Africa we cant wait for the big plants that can make sure that the water is safe by that time many children have died, so i acknowledge the support of organizations like Potters Without Borders and most significantly of governments represented here by the minister….”

Honorable Minister Collette Ruhamya:
“… despite the simple design and the absence of chemicals the ceramic water filter has an efficiency of  99.88%, this is an amazing acchievement. the fact that these filters can be easily made from low cost local materials, with the additional advantage of having low cost replacement filters regular available, this technology is highly suitable for helping to access clean potable water in Rwanda.”

(CBS/AP)

More people die from polluted water every year than from all forms of violence, including war, the U.N. said in a report Monday that highlights the need for clean drinking water.

The report, launched Monday to coincide with World Water Day, said an estimated 2 billion tons of waste water – including fertilizer run-off, sewage and industrial waste – is being discharged daily. That waste fuels the spread of disease and damages ecosystems.

“Sick Water” – the report from the U.N. Environment Program – said that 3.7 percent of all deaths are attributed to water-related diseases, translating into millions of deaths. More than half of the world’s hospital beds are filled by people suffering from water-related illnesses, it said.

Read the full report

“If we are not able to manage our waste, then that means more people dying from waterborne diseases,” said Achim Steiner, the U.N. Undersecretary General and executive director of UNEP.

The report says that it takes 3 liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water, and that bottled water in the U.S. requires the consumption of some 17 million barrels of oil yearly.

Improved wastewater management in Europe has resulted in significant environmental improvements there, the UNEP said, but that dead zones in oceans are still spreading worldwide. Dead zones are oxygen-deprived areas caused by pollution.

“If the world is to thrive, let alone to survive on a planet of 6 billion people heading to over 9 billion by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about how we manage waste, including wastewaters,” Steiner said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is tightening drinking water standards to impose stricter limits on four contaminants that can cause cancer.

In a speech Monday, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency is developing stricter regulations for four compounds (tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, acrylamide and epichlorohydrin). All four chemical compounds can cause cancer.

EPA Information on Drinking Water

Two of the compounds (tetrachloroethyleneylene and trichloroethylene) are used in industrial and textile processing and can seep into drinking water from contaminated groundwater or surface water. Two others (acrylamide and epichlorohydrin) are impurities that can be introduced into drinking water during the water treatment process.

Jackson said the EPA will issue new rules on the four chemical compounds within the next year.

In December, an analysis of federal data showed that since 2004 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which requires communities to provide safe tap water, have been found at 20 percent of U.S. water treatment systems, but only six percent of those systems were ever fined or punished by state or federal officials.

The New York Times’ Charles Duhigg reported that the violations – which include dangerous bacteria or illegal concentrations of toxic or radioactive substances – affected water delivered to more than 49 million people.

© MMX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

by Peter Kenyon

Link to NPR site:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124012949

An American in Yemen has become one of the few global manufacturers of affordable and deceptively simple ceramic water filters that could play a vital role in bringing safe drinking water to millions of people. Using technology that originated in Latin America, he sold 20,000 filters last year at $25 apiece, and hopes to expand his operations this year.

Direct link to MP3 Audio file:

Analysis of Filtered Water for Barium

Analyst: Megan Campbell, B.Sc.

Supervisor: Dr. Kingsley Donkor

Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC

December 24, 2009

Method
Standards were made with barium chloride hydrate (BaCl2•2H2O) to produce a calibration curve as seen in Figure 1.  The barium standards ranged in concentration from 0 – 10 ppm, in increments of 0.5 ppm.  Each standard was analyzed in triplicates.

Tap water was filtered through a new 100% Plainsman red earth filter and samples were taken at 1.5, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 hours.  The samples were collected in brown washed plastic bottles.  Aliquots of 100 mL of each of the samples were taken and analyzed in triplicates.

Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was used to analyze the concentrations of barium in the standards and in the filtered water which allowed for the determination of barium in each of the filtered water samples collected.

To ensure optimum results, the following precautions were performed:  The filtered water samples were collected in acid washed bottles that were washed in diluted (1:3) nitric acid to prevent interference by contamination.  Also, in each of the standard barium solutions and collected filtered water, potassium nitrate (KNO3) was introduced to suppress ionization.

Results
A calibration curve was made from the analysis of barium chloride hydrate by AAS (Figure 1).  From this calibration curve, the concentrations of barium in the filtered water samples at the different time intervals were determined as seen in Table 1.

Figure 1.  The calibration curve of barium using AAS.

*ppm = µg/mL or mg/L

Table 1.  The concentrations of barium in the filtered water samples at the different times of collection.

*ppm = µg/ mL or mg/L

Discussion

From the calibration curve produced by the barium chloride hydrate standards, the unknown concentrations of barium in the filtered water samples were determined.  The highest concentrations of barium were observed in the samples taken after 1.5 hours of filtration with an average barium concentration of 0.3154 mg/L (ppm) (Table 1).  With increasing time, the concentration of barium decreased in the filtered water indicating less barium was leaching into the water.  These results correlate with the physical properties observed when the water samples were collected.  At 1.5 hours, the water was an orange/yellow color and had a strong ceramic odor.  The following samples taken at 2.5, 5 and 7.5 hours gradually became colorless and odorless.  From these observations, it can be seen that less of the ceramic filter make-up is leaching into the filtered water; therefore, less barium is too. From the Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, the maximum acceptable concentration of barium in drinking water is stated to be 1 mg/L (1 ppm ) [1].  The barium concentrations experimentally obtained from the filtered water are exceptionally lower than the maximum acceptable concentration of barium in drinking water.  The highest average concentration of barium was after 1.5 hours and is approximately three times lower than the accepted concentration of barium in drinking water.

Reference

1. Electronic Resource, http://www.saskh20.ca/PDF-WaterCommittee/Barium.pdf

31/12/2009 06:48:00 by : Sammi Aryani

Khadija al-Zafeni walks two kilometers to collect water from a rain-fed cistern three times a day. “My children were constantly sick because of the water.

Khadija al-Zafeni walks two kilometers to collect water from a rain-fed cistern three times a day. “My children were constantly sick because of the water. Each of them was stricken with severe diarrhea every month. It would reach the point to which they would be skinny and frail and sleep all day. For a mother, it’s hard to watch your children suffer like that.” This is the daily condition for the staggering 44 percent of Yemenis who currently live without access to clean drinking water, one of life’s most basic necessities, but also the one most easily taken for granted. However, Khadija is gratefully using the past tense, for, thanks to Richard Boni’s colloidal silver filters, her family has now been granted the right to drink water free of disease. As the Silver Filter Company expands, this could be the reality for the rest of Yemen’s rural and urban poor.

Yemen’s water crisis has already shown its pervasive effects on the lowest levels. As water becomes ever scarcer, far too many people are driven to drink from filthy surface water. The cistern in the village of al-Zafen has been dubbed “the milky pond” because the water is often opaque. Before the clay filters were introduced to the village, 80 percent of its population was suffering from severe diarrhea. The rate of illness was not just harming the quality of life for those afflicted, but it was having a debilitating economic and social impact.

Workers would be decommissioned for weeks at a time, robbing their families of their much needed income. There is no hospital or pharmacy in the village so the cost of transport and medical care reached as high as five to eight thousand rials a month. For households with over six mouths to feed and who live on only a few dollars a day, the financial burden was substantial. Al-Zafen is not a particularly impoverished village. With 70 percent of Yemen’s population living in a rural environment and, of that population, only 48 percent having access to clean drinking water, al-Zafen provides a snapshot of how many Yemenis live. So, as the villagers would happily attest, an easy-to-use and affordable water purification system is nothing short of a godsend.

The village of al-Zafen was chosen as the site for a pilot project by the Social Fund for Development to test the efficacy of the clay filters. The results have been promising. The filters are comprised of a clay pot set inside a plastic bucket with a nozzle at the bottom of it. All one has to do is pour water, no matter how dirty, into the clay pot and wait for the clean drinking water to drip into the plastic bucket. As it drips it is exposed to the disinfecting silver that saturates the pot. The silver, which presents no health risks in such miniscule amounts, kills off 99.89 percent of the microbes that live in the water. Toxins are filtered by the clay and the resultant water ends up being cleaner than the average bottle of water. Even in test runs where sewage water was used, the resultant water was clean and drinkable. Skeptics often have trouble getting past the filter’s rudimentary appearance, but its simple design belies its potentially life-saving properties.

Tariq al-Zafeni was a skeptic when the Social Fund workers gave him a silver filter in 2008. “It didn’t run on electricity, it’s made out of clay, you don’t have to change anything inside of it. I thought this would be worthless. But I know now that it is like a gift from God. It’s the simplest thing, you don’t even have to clean it everyday.”

Its simplicity and effectiveness are its strength, and Yemen’s development community has started to take notice. Garreth Richards, the general manager of Care International Yemen, provided his testimonial: “The silver filters present development workers with the ideal water purification system. It’s simple enough that anyone can be taught how to use it, and it’s proven to be effective. There are no risks like chlorination which, when used incorrectly, is at best ineffective, and at worst poisonous. When Care deals with projects that involve drinking water, we use and will probably continue to use Rich Boni’s filters.”

In fact, Care is not the only organization taking note. The UNHCR uses thousands of the silver filters in their refugee camps. The Islamic Relief and the Red Cross also purchased thousands when Hadhramaut was struck by floods in 2008. A fully decentralized water purification system is saving thousands of people from the agony of gastrointestinal disease, as well as the thousands of rials a month spent on medical attention, and it all happened by the virtue of a happy accident.

Michael Klinger, the former country director of the GTZ in Yemen, built a kiln with the intention of making clay irrigation equipment, the market for which proved to be too small. The kiln sat there until it was realized that they could cheaply fire silver filters. The idea came from an American NGO called Potter Without Borders, which has been the biggest driver in spreading the filters around the world. After simply providing a training program to Boni and his potters, they left the company to develop independently. Richard Boni was working on the filters from the beginning. “We started with only a couple of hundred misshapen blobs of clay. Slowly we started to streamline our method, and perfect our product. Now, we quite easily bang out a thousand a month.” Under the auspices of Boni, the company has grown to its current level. Through his incredible attention to detail, he has made a product that is trusted by the development community. And attention to detail is one of Boni’s strongest assets.

“No matter what, the silver is going to kill all the bacteria, and the water will be safe to drink. But I still take pride in my work, and consistency and presentation are everything.” Richard Boni has dedicated the past 18 years to improving the lives of poor Yemenis. “In 18 years of working in development, this has been the most meaningful thing I’ve done.” However, he is aware that there is still much room to grow. “Once people around the country know how much illness is in their water, and how effective the filters are, I see silver filters becoming a household name.”

Mr. Boni is correct in that the biggest challenges facing Yemen when it comes to waterborne illness is awareness. Tariq al-Zaffeni knows that many Yemenis were just like him before the silver filter. “Before the silver filters, we didn’t even know that you could get sick from water. We used to take the water from the cistern and pour it through our scarves to get rid of the large debris. We thought that was enough.” Awareness does not only entail informing people of the problem, but also presenting them with solutions. Al-Zafeni is adamant that if other villagers are given the chance to invest in a water filter they would. “I feel sad that our neighbors don’t have these filters; our lives are actually better than theirs because of a filter. There needs to be a way to bring these filters to every village in Yemen. They are sick and they don’t even know what the cause is.”

At every level, from the heads of development and aid groups, to the researchers on the field, and to the villagers who are directly affected, there is a call to expand the capacity and reach of the silver filters. Waterborne disease is a major cause of stunted development and child mortality, as well as a huge drain on household budgets. With over half of Yemenis afflicted with stunted growth, and the highest child mortality rate in the Arab World at 73 children per thousand, Yemen needs a simple solution that can be utilized in the kitchen by anyone. Perhaps this would improve the fluidity of Yemen’s rural economy, and revitalize a workforce that suffers from anemia, malnutrition, and diarrhea.

The Silver Filters Company recently held a training program for potters from Somaliland, so it is already gaining international attention. They hope that within a few years, their operation will expand to accommodate a second kiln, the building of which is costly and time-consuming. But it would double the capacity of the company, thus helping thousands more become healthier and more able members of society.

A big challenge is getting the press through customs and into the places where it is most needed. So Creative Machines developed a highly portable press that could be disassembled and checked as airplane luggage. Even though our press can produce 20 tons of force, it can be disassembled and made to fit in a suitcase. It is so small it doesn’t even incur an oversize fee. This 5-1/2 minute video shows the press being tested for the first time by Potters for Peace.