Effectiveness of Improvised Water Filter Using Pebbles,

Sand, Activated Charcoal, and Cotton in

Transforming Tap Water into
Drinking Water

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO

THE FACULTY OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
CORDILLERA CAREER DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE

IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUBJECT

STEM12E: CAPSTONE SUBJECT

BY
APASAN, IVAN DUANE
BAGNISEN, JUNARD HANS T.
BALANG, GODWIN P.
CABFENG, GWENN GIANNE
LEYGO, TIMOTHY JOSH
SUBILAN, JALLEN HAYMES
SUMENSIN, KIMBERLY CLAIRE H.
WACDIN, BERLON BRADLEY S.

MAY 2020
 INTRODUCTION
Water is a basic part of living. Making sure your water is
clean is the first step in staying healthy. Since the majority of
our water is recycled we should make sure we know what types are
best.
Water filtration is a general term that refers to any system
or process that is used to filter out particles and pollutants
from water. It doesn’t necessary need to be a purifier to make
the cut. Anything that removes any amount of particles,
sediments, bacteria, and the chlorine taste can be called
filtration. If it has a filter of any type, it’s a filtration
system (Mifflin, 2019).
Purifying water is just as necessary as filtering it, if not
even more important. Purifying water is done in order to clean
the water of non-visible elements. In doing this you make the
water clear and able to be digested safely into our bodies.
Filtering and purifying water before you drink it, has now
become a crucial part of living in a rapidly growing,
economically expanding world. In today’s society, water is reused
over and over again. Not only to recycle but to produce enough to
sustain people in their everyday lives. The process of filtration
makes our water clean by removing visible and non-visible
particles. The process of purification makes the water safe and
clean to drink. Taking these processes seriously can keep you and
the people around you safe and free of harmful substances found
in water.
Water sources such as lakes, rivers, and ground water supply
much of the water for domestic use. Some of the water that
reaches our household faucets has also been used for other
purposes. Water from these various sources is treated to remove
impurities and to make it suitable for human consumption.
Particles can be removed by filtration through sand. Activated
charcoal has been treated to increase its porosity and surface
area, and is used to adsorb odors and some colored substances.
Certain impurities, including carbon-based particles and
chlorine, are attracted to the charcoal and remain trapped in the
pores. Cotton aids removal of further persistent turbidity. It
prevents the flow of activated charcoal particles further down in
the filter. It reduces color imparted to water by carbon layer.
Sand removes coliform bacteria, algae, color and iron and
manganese content of water. Sand filters work using a complex
biological film that grows naturally on the surface of the sand
which merely functions as a substance for the filtration. Slow
sand filters work through the formation of a gelatinous layer of
biofilm on the top of the layer of fine sand which consist of
bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. The surface biofilm is the layer
that provides effective purification in potable water treatment,
underlying sand providing the support medium for this biological
treatment layer. As water passes through the hypogeal layer,
particles of foreign matter are trapped in the mucilaginous
matrix and soluble organic material is absorbed. The contaminants
are metabolized by the bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. The water
produced from a slow sand filter is expected to be excellent
quality with significant bacterial cell count reduction.
Given the importance of water to our wellbeing very and
bodily function, we owe it to ourselves to ensure that the water
we drink is as pure and fresh as possible.
We don’t have a natural spring water source in our backyard
and purchasing pre-bottled water can be both inconvenient and is
prohibitively expensive, both financially and environmentally.
The following are the reasons why water filtration is a
must;
Water filtration can provide better tasting and better
smelling drinking water by removing chlorine, chemicals,
pesticides, heavy metals and bacterial contaminants. Point-of-use
water filters remove lead from drinking water immediately prior
to consumption, thus preventing this harmful substance from
entering the body. The purchase of the countertop filter results
in a source of clean, healthy water that costs much less than
expensive bottled water reduce toxic waste in the environment.
Water filters greatly reduce the risk of certain cancers
including: rectal cancer, colon cancer, and bladder cancer by
removing chlorine and chlorine by products such as
Trihalomethanes (THMs) from drinking water. A carbon water filter
can selectively remove dangerous contaminants from drinking water
while retaining healthy mineral deposits that balance pH of
drinking water. Drinking clean, filtered water protects the body
from disease and leads to overall greater health and energy. A
water filter provides clean, healthy water for cooking, as well
as drinking, at the convenience of tap water. Water filters
reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disease by more than 80
percent by removing cryptosporidium, e-coli and giardia from
drinking water. Drinking pure water is especially important for
children. Water filters provide the healthiest water for
children’s developing immune systems. Water filters offer the
last line of defense between body and the over 2100 known toxins
that may be present in drinking water.
Given that water is important in our wellbeing and bodily
function, we owe it to ourselves to ensure that the water we
drink is as pure and fresh as possible.
We don’t have a natural spring water source in our backyard
and purchasing pre-bottled water can be both inconvenient and is
prohibitively expensive, both financially and environmentally.
Thus our objectives are the following:
1.) To determine the effectiveness of improvised water
filter with the use of pebbles, sand, activated
charcoal, and cotton.
2.) To determine the comparison between the result and of
the bottled water.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Design
The Water Filter Design has two specific layers. Layer 1 is
intended as a storage for the unfiltered tap water and layer 2
serves as a storage for the filtered water and where the
filtration system is attached. The filtration system has four
compartments.

The first compartment is specifically for primary filtration

of the water and has a cotton layer which helps in separating the
big physical impurities from it. The second compartment has
composed of sand and pebbles succeeded by multiple layers of
cotton. The third compartment has a cotton filter followed by a
filter composed of activated charcoal which helps in removing the
foul smell, ionic dyes, as well as the gases produced by the
microbes in the water. After the activated charcoal layer, there
are multiple layers of non-absorbent cotton which helps in
preventing the flow of charcoal particles along with water.
Activated Charcoal
Carbon is an extremely porous material that attracts and
holds a wide range of harmful contaminants. Activated Carbon is
carbon which has a slight electropositive charge added to it,
making it even more attractive to chemical and impurities. As the
water passes over the positively charged carbon surface, the
negative ions of the contaminants are drawn to the surface of the
carbon granules. It removes chlorine, sediments, and volatile
organic compounds that cause pollution and bad odor and improves
tastes. Activated carbon removes contaminants from water by two
mechanisms, adsorption, for removal of organic compounds and
catalytic reduction involving the attraction of negatively-
charged contaminant ions to the positively-charged activated
carbon in the removal of residual disinfectants such as chlorine
and chloramine. However, it is not effective in removal of
minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds, and so,
hardness cannot be removed.

Cotton
Cotton aids removal of further persistent turbidity. It
prevents the flow of activated charcoal particles further down in
the filter it reduces color imparted to water by carbon layer.

Sand/Pebbles
It removes coliform bacteria, algae, color, and iron and
manganese content of water. Sand filters work using a complex
biological film that grows naturally on the surface of the sand
which merely functions as substrate for the filtration. Slow sand
filters work through the formation of gelatinous layer or biofilm
on the top of a layer of find sand which consists of bacteria,
fungi, and protozoa. The surface biofilm is the layer that
provides the effective purification in potable water treatment,
the underlying sand providing the support medium for this
biological treatment layer. As water passes through the hypogeal
layer, particles of foreign matter are trapped in the
mucilaginous matrix and soluble organic material is adsorbed. The
contaminants are metabolized by the bacteria, fungi, and
protozoa. The water produced from a slow sand filter is expected
to be of excellent quality with significant bacterial cell count
reduction.

Reference:
Batra, S.,Adhikari, P.,Ghai, H.,Sharma, A.,Sarma, R., and
Vuppu,S.(2017). Study and design of portable antimicrobial
water filter.Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319432498_study_an
d_design_of_portable_antimicrobial_water_filter.
Essay, UK. (2018). Water Filtration and Purification and its
Effects Environmental Sciences Essay. Retrieved from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/environmental-
sciences/water-filtrationandpurificationanditseffects
environmentalsciences.essays.php?vref=1.
Jacobsen, E.K. (2004). Warm Filtration. Retrieved from
https://dos.org/10.1021/ed081p224A.
Kucircova,A.(2018). Need to Know About a Water Filtration System
Before Buying One. Retrieved January 22,2020 from
https://businessconnect.world.com/2018/06/13/water.filtratio
n.systyem.
Mifflin, M. (2019). Water Filtration System for Your Faucet.
Retrieved January 22,2020 from
https://www.thespruce.com/water_filtration_purpose_1907916.