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Manufacturing Facility for Activated Carbon and Ceramic Water Filters at the Songhai Center, Benin

EPA Grant Number: SU832495
Title: Manufacturing Facility for Activated Carbon and Ceramic Water Filters at the Songhai Center, Benin
Investigators: Striebig, Bradley A. , Dacquisto, John F.
Institution: Gonzaga University
EPA Project Officer: Nolt-Helms, Cynthia
Project Period: September 1, 2005 through May 30, 2006
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet (2005)
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development

Description:

Ceramic filters will be manufactured at the Songhai Center in Porto-Novo, Benin for cost-effective drinking water treatment. The efficiency of the ceramic filters will be improved by adding activated carbon cartridges to remove organic and inorganic impurities. The activated carbon will be manufactured from coconut shell wastes, by-products of agricultural production. Community-focused projects, such as this one, directly address the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the United Nations (UN). Members of the Gonzaga Chapter of Engineers Without Borders will be responsible for the planning, management and design of the project during their senior capstone design course. The sustainable design objectives for the EWB effort are to:

  1. Design and determine the efficiency of drinking water filters that utilize activated carbon and ceramic treatment.
  2. Design biogas burning furnaces to manufacture activated carbon and finish the ceramic filters.
  3. Design the structure of a filter manufacturing facility.
  4. Reduce exposure and subsequent illness to intestinal parasites and disease with cost-effective treatment technologies that can be distributed regionally in Benin.

    Objective:

    The water at the Songhai Center in Benin was tested in 2004 and was compromised by the lack of sanitation and water treatment due to the high poverty level in the Country. A ceramic filter called a Filtron, developed by Potters for Peace, will be used for water treatment. Activated carbon will be used to further increase the effectiveness of the filter, particularly in removing organic and inorganic contaminants. The effectiveness, low cost, and ease of use make these technologies fully sustainable and ideal for point source treatment of drinking water in Benin and developing countries

    Expected Results:

    Pathogens, organic contaminants and inorganic contaminants will be removed from drinking water. The improvement in water quality will directly affect the 400 or more workers at the Songhai Center and will allow several thousands of people who visit the center each year to consume local water instead of imported bottled mineral water. The new manufacturing facility may provide up to 30 new jobs at the Songhai Center. Most importantly, the Center will produce affordable water filters which can be sold at Songhai's non-profit retail stores throughout Benin. These regional stores have access to over 100,000 people. Water quality improvements will decrease childhood and maternal disease and mortality rates throughout Benin.

    Supplemental Keywords:

    sustainable development, engineering, human health, drinking water, educational outcomes, Filtron, activated carbon, organics, cholera, and pathogens, , POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Water, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Scientific Discipline, RFA, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Wastewater, Water Pollution Control, Drinking Water, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, Environmental Microbiology, Microorganisms, bacteria, drinking water system, drinking water contaminants, treatment, wastewater treatment, natural waters, exposure and effects, other - risk management, ceramic filter, microbiological organisms, aqueous waste stream, ceramic filters, monitoring, pathogens, waterborne disease, environmental chemistry, drinking water treatment, adaptive technology, microbial risk management, exposure, water treatment, activated carbon

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    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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