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A simple portable potable water treatment plant in rural areas

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E.I. Ekwue et al.: A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas 29

ISSN 1000 7924

The Journal of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago
Vol.41, No.1, April/May 2013, pp.29-34

A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas

Edwin I. Ekwuea Ψ, Vasant Dhanrajb, and Robert A. Birch c
a, c
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and
Tobago, West Indies; E-mails: Edwin.Ekwue@sta.uwi.edu; Robert.Birch@sta.uwi.edu
b
Carillion Caribbean Limited, Brickfield Road, Waterloo, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies;
E-mail: VasantDhanraj9@hotmail.com
Ψ
- Corresponding Author

(Received 18 November 2012; Revised 22 April2013; Accepted 29 April 2013)

Abstract: In the Caribbean region and elsewhere in the world, accessibility to a constant supply of pipe-borne water is
difficult for some of the population, especially those living in rural areas. This paper describes the design, fabrication
and testing of a portable potable water treatment plant. The device was designed using a gravitational flow treatment
process with no need for a conventional power source. The untreated water is placed into the inlet tank. The water then
flows through the system by means of gravity passing through a simple locally made filter of sand, clay and gravel. After
filtration, the effluent is then passed through a chlorination chamber and then through a carbon filter into the storage
tank located at the base of the system. The device was tested using three types of untreated water: rain water, pond
water and river water. The treated water in all three cases was chemically tested to determine the quality and the
effectiveness of the device. The results were compared favourably with the World Health Organisation Standards for
drinking water. The angle at which the filter was orientated affected the quality of the water produced and the best angle
of the ones tested (13o to the horizontal), was determined through experimentation. This portable device would ensure
that potable water is both economical and easily available to the Caribbean and other regions, particularly in rural
areas.
Keywords: Water, treated, rain, drinking, potable, rural areas

1. Introduction smaller islands of the Caribbean, rooftop rainwater

The earth is widely known to contain a large percentage of
water. However, only 3% of that water is fresh water and
available to humans with only 0.06% easily accessible to
humans for use. It is estimated that over 80 countries in
the world suffer from a water shortage and about 2 billion
people lack access to clean water (Alois, 2007). In every
year, there are approximately 250 million cases of water-
related diseases, which result in roughly 5 million to 10
million deaths (Ahuja, 2009). A significant number of the
deaths are caused by the ingestion of the water
contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or
parasites responsible for cholera, typhoid, schistosomiasis,
dysentery, and other diarrheal diseases. The United
Nations estimates that 2.7 billion people will face water
shortage by the year 2025 (Ahuja, 2009).
In Latin America and the Caribbean, over 75 million
people have little or no access to safe drinking water
(IADB, 2005). In the Caribbean, access to freshwater is
well established although population growth, water for
industrial uses and environmental issues (such as climate
change and sea level rise) are expected to adversely affect
water quality in the near future. There is the need to
provide more water for drinking particularly in the rural
areas (Peters, 2011). According to Peters (2011), in many
systems is the main source of fresh water particularly in
the rural areas. Rainwater ponds are also used for
agriculture and primarily for livestock production. Peters
(2011) reported the possibilities of contamination of
rainwater collected from rooftops arising from the
building materials and airborne contamination from heavy
traffic and industries. This therefore calls for the
production of simple, cheap but effective ways of treating
water for small households, since a safe and convenient
water supply plays a vital role in public health and the
well-being of a society.
The major water treatment methods include using
coarse filters, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation or
clarification, filtration and chlorination. These
conventional methods of treatments are available, for a
huge population in rural areas in developing countries.
However, they could be inappropriate or too costly to
implement (Vigneswaran and Sundaravadivel, 2008).
Rural communities therefore adopt simple and
rudimentary water treatment techniques that can serve
communities of individual households. These treatments
mainly aim at removing visible impurities like leaves,
twigs or large particles from water and mainly involve
simple filtration using a sieve or cloth or other local
E.I. Ekwue et al.: A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas 30

materials like stones and plant materials (Vigneswaran
and Sundaravadivel, 2008).
The most common material that is used for water
filtration is natural sand (Peavy et al., 1985) since it makes
for a very efficient strainer for small colloids. Fair and
Geyer (1961) developed an accurate theory for predicting
a head loss across a bed of clean sand. Although this
method of filtration is successful, it is very costly for
implementation at a rural setting. Ekwue and Ramdeen
(2004) investigated the use of a sand and clay filter and
found that the measured properties of the effluents from
sand clay filter being 512 N, the average normal stress on
each cable was calculated as 0.00684 MPa. This is safe
since it is much less than the design stress of mild steel.
The average stresses on the small and large U-brackets
were also calculated as 0.00342 MPa and 0.00202 MPa
respectively.
Inlet water
tank
Frame

wastewater were reduced to levels that were safe for

discharge into the environment. They did not test the
effect of this filter on rainwater or other sources of
freshwater neither did they investigate whether this filter
could produce potable water safe enough for drinking by Chlorination
the human population. It is therefore not clear whether it chamber

could be used for this purpose in a local setting.

This paper involves the design, construction and
Sand and
testing of a portable water treatment plant that could be clay filter
used to produce potable water for drinking for a
household in a local setting.

2. Description of the Constructed Portable Water

Treatment Plant Carbon Storage
filter tank
2.1 Construction
Figure 1 shows the constructed portable water treatment
plant. There are three layers of horizontal frames: top,
middle and bottom layers. The three layers are each 1.52
m square. The top layer (as shown in Figure 1) which
carries a-450 litre (L) capacity and 0.8 metre (m) diameter Figure 1. The portable water treatment plant
water inlet tank is made from a 50.8 mm x 50.8 mm x 6.3
mm angle iron rod and has three supporting bars. These
bars included one-50.8 mm x 50.8 mm and 6.3 mm angle
iron rod with length, 1.52 m at the centre of the square and
two-37.8 mm x 37.8 mm x 6.3mm angle iron rods, 0.25 m
on each side (see Figure 2).
The total weight of the 450 L tank and the three
supporting bars is 4,846 N, making the load on each
supporting bar to be 1,615.3 N. The maximum bending
stresses on the 50.8 mm and the 37.8 mm bars due to
loading were calculated as 82 megapascal (MPa) and 86
MPa, respectively, which are much less than the design
stress of 125 MPa for mild steel, using a factor of safety
of 2. A winch assembly consisting of the winch, the Figure 2. Top layer of the frame
frame attachment and the pulleys was positioned so that it
would be in line with the 50.8 mm size middle support bar
and carry a sand and clay filter (see Figure 3).
Two U-brackets were attached to the same supporting
bar. The brackets were positioned with one on the end of
the bar on the left and other 0.36 m on the left of the
centre of the bar when viewed from the front of the
system. The total weight of the sand and clay filter
assembly is 1024 N. The diameter of the winch cable and
chain is 9.5 mm with a cross-sectional area of 0.00748 m2.
With the tension in each of the two cables used to hold the Figure 3. The Sand and clay filter assembly
E.I. Ekwue et al.: A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas
The sand and clay filter (as shown in Figure 3) was
made from a 305-mm diameter PVC pipe of length,
0.91m. The ends of the pipe have flat bottom end caps
with two 18.75-mm diameter inlet and outlet holes made
on each of the end caps. The filter was filled with the
following material in the order: 20% - 18.75 mm size
yellow pea gravel; 20% - 9.5 mm size yellow pea gravel;
30% - sharp sand and 30% - 70/30 mixture of silica sand
and kaolin clay. This proportion of the mixture of 30%
clay and 70% silica sand was found to be the best for
water filtration by Ekwue and Ramdeen (2004) and was
therefore adopted in this construction. The full description
of the sand and clay filter was given by Ekwue and
Ramdeen (2004).
The middle and the bottom layers of the framework
were made from 37.8 mm x 37.8 mm x 6.3 mm iron bars.
In the middle layer, there is the addition of two lengths of
bars, each 1.52 m length, where a chlorination chamber
and a household carbon filter (see Figure 4) were attached
as shown in Figure 1. The total weight of the chlorination
chamber and the bars is 332 N. The chlorination chamber
was made out of 6.3-mm thick sheet metal and consists of
a box of dimensions 305 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm.
Around the lip of the box, one-25.4 mm x 25 mm x 6.3
mm size angle iron was attached. The top frame of the box
has eight equally spaced holes of 6.3 mm diameter drilled
around the box. On the 100 mm x 100 mm faces of the
box, 38 mm-diameter inlet and outlet holes were drilled.
A cover for the box was made out of Plexiglas of
dimensions 355 mm x 178 mm x 6.4 mm. A chlorine
tablet kept in its position by the use of separation plates
was placed in the centre of the box vertically.
Figure 4. Chlorination chamber
The bottom layer of the frame (see Figure 5) has two
supporting bars 0.51 m from each end of the square. The
supporting bars were each 37.8mm x 37.8 mm and 6.3
mm size angle iron, holding the storage tank (with 450 L
capacity). The storage tank has a float inside it to control
the level of water. The total weight of the storage tank and
the supporting bars which act on the supporting bars is
4,536 N, meaning that 2,268 N acts on each bar. The total
bending stress on each supporting bar was computed as 97
MPa, which is safe since it is less than the design stress of
125 MPa for mild steel.
31
The vertical frame members comprise of two sections:
a top layer with height 1.12 m and a bottom layer, 0.76 m
high. The two layers were each made out of four 37.8mm
x 37.8 mm and 6.3 mm angle iron. The wheel assembly
consists of a 127 mm caster wheel, four-9.5 mm diameter
nut and bolts with washers as well as an additional metal
6.3 mm thick plate with 100 mm x 127 mm size. The
casters were mounted using 50.8 mm long 9.5 mm
diameter nut and bolt with a washer and lock washer. The
lock was provided for the safety and stability of the
device.
Figure 5. Bottom layer of the frame
The total loads on the wheels (11,256 N) was
calculated as the sum of the top layer of the frame (4,846
N); sand and clay filter assembly (1,024 N); middle layer
comprising of the chlorination box and the bars (332 N);
bottom layer including the bars (4,797 N) and the four
vertical posts (257 N). The total load on each of the four
wheels was therefore 2,814 N which is 287 kg and 631 Ib.
The load capacity of the casters used was 1000 Ib. Hence,
the choice of casters is suitable for the design since this
allowed for a factor of safety greater than 1.5.
The stress analysis of the frame posts was also carried
out. The total load on each post was 2,814 N and with the
area of each post obtained as 0.000444 m2, the stress was
computed as 6.34 MPa, which is very safe. Lastly, the
force required for possible tipping of the device was
computed as 4,164 N. This relatively large force will
minimise the chance of tipping of the device. Finally, the
steel materials of the water treatment plant were painted in
order to reduce corrosion and increase the aesthetics.
2.2 Principles of operation
This design operates on the process of gravitational flow
where water is directly added to the inlet tank from
sources like rainwater runoff from a house roof system or
from water addition through a pump system from river or
pond. The flow of water in the system depends mainly on
the water level in the bottom storage tank which is
maintained by the level of the float. The water from the
inlet tank enters the sand and clay filter and proceeds to
E.I. Ekwue et al.: A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas
the chlorination chamber. The chlorination chamber box
contains a chlorine tablet which reacts with the water as it
passes over it. After chlorination, the water goes through a
household carbon filter and is then stored in the bottom
storage tank. The frame is designed so as to encourage
gravity flow due to its vertical design which also allows
for a compact and space reduction process.
3. Testing of the Water Treatment Plant
3.1 Experimental Procedure
Tests were conducted to investigate whether the
constructed plant could treat water from different sources
and produce water of acceptable quality for drinking.
Water from three sources was tested. The first one was
rainwater collected from a spouting system from a house
nearby. The second water source was from the University
of the West Indies Engineering pond. The third source
was water from Caroni River. The raw water in each case
was brought in a tank and pumped into the inlet tank via a
submersible pump.
Ideally, the system was designed to be placed directly
beneath the outlet of a spouting system, so that rainwater
or any other fresh water could flow directly into the inlet
tank of the water treatment plant. Water then flowed into
the sand and clay filter which was tilted at different angles
so as to determine the best position for water treatment.
Investigation of the angles for positioning the filter
was necessary since preliminary results indicated that the
angle of the inclination of the filter affected the quality of
the water produced. The angles examined (0o, 13o, 26o and
39o) were within the range that the filter was able to be
tilted according to the design.
The angle of the filter was easy to vary because of the
addition of the winch system on the filter. The valve was
opened allowing the water to pass through the sand and
clay filter. The water exiting the filter was allowed to
runoff from the system for a period of two minutes in
order for excess particles to exit the system which was
made by the movement of the filter. The water then
flowed through to the chlorination chamber where it came
in contact with a chlorine tablet and then passed through
the household carbon filter and into the storage tank. The
raw water and the water effluent collected at the storage
tank each time after the changing of each tilting angle of
the sand and clay filter was tested in the laboratory.
3.2 Laboratory Testing of the Samples
Chemical testing of water was carried out at the Civil
Environmental Engineering Laboratory using standard
procedure. The decimal logarithm of the reciprocal of the
hydrogen ion activity in a solution (pH) was measured
with a pH meter with electrodes. The colour of the
samples was measured by observing sample colours by
filling the matched Nessler tube to the 50mL mark with
sample and comparing it with the relevant standards
(APHA, 1998). Turbidity, electrical conductivity and
32
dissolved oxygen were measured with their relevant
meters. Chlorine residual in water was measured with
diethyl paraphenylene diamine indicator test, using a
comparator (WHO, 2011b). Free Residual Chlorine
which refers to the amount of available chlorine present as
aqueous molecular chlorine, hypochlorous acid, and
hypochlorite ion was measured using chlorine-containing
samples reacted with N, N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine
sulphate (APHA, 1998).
4. Results and Discussion
Table 1 details the results of all the tests carried out for the
three raw water sources as well as when the sand and clay
filter was placed level or tilted at different angles before
flowing into the storage tank. Results were presented
alongside the WHO Standards (WHO, 2011a) for drinking
water. Table 1 shows that the colour of the raw rainwater
was normal compared with the WHO Standards (WHO,
2011a) but for the pond water and the river water, the sand
and clay filter operating at an angle of 13o was effective in
reducing the colour to below the 15 Hu limit prescribed by
WHO for drinking water.
Similar results were obtained for electrical
conductivity (EC), in that the EC of raw rainwater was
acceptable by the WHO standards but the filter operating
at 13o was also able to reduce the EC value obtained for
the pond and river water to be within the acceptable
limits. As is common with raw rainwater (Peters, 2011),
the one tested in this study was found to be slightly acidic
but the filter operating at the 13o position again made the
water to be more alkaline and within the required
alkalinity limits.
The turbidity of the rainwater was very low and
acceptable but the filter at the 13o position further reduced
the value to 1.0 NTU. Although the raw pond and river
water had high turbidity (> 5.0 NTU), the filter operating
at the 13o position was able to lower these values to below
the acceptable limit. Dissolved oxygen is desirable in
drinking water and raw water from the three sources met
this requirement since they all had values greater than the
limit of 4.0 mg/L that is acceptable. The filter operating at
all angles, however, increased these dissolved oxygen
levels, which is desirable. Total chlorine and free chlorine
levels in the raw water and the treated water were all low.
The results showed that although passing the water
through the chlorination chamber increased the chlorine
contents of the raw water, the values in the effluents were
well within the acceptable limits for drinking water as set
by WHO (2011a). According to WHO (2011b), chlorine
in water could give it an unpleasant taste if slightly
overdosed, which could dissuade people from using the
water supply.
In general, it was found that the raw rainwater tested
in this research was found to have acceptable colour,
electrical conductivity and turbidity levels which showed
that it was reasonably free of physical impurities.
E.I. Ekwue et al.: A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas 33

Table 1. Mean values of some properties of raw water sources and their effluents when passed through the water
Colour (Hu) Electrical conductivity PH Turbidity (NTU)
(mg/L)
Standard*: <15.0 Standard: 33.0 Standard: 6.5 - 8.0 Standard: <5.0
Water sources Rain Pond River Rain Pond River Rain Pond River Rain Pond River
Intake water 13.3** 63.3 70.0 17.2 54.7 60.9 6.1 6.9 7.8 2.0 12.0 22.0
Position of Sand and clay
filter Effluents of raw water from the three sources passed through the system with sand and clay filter tilted at different angles
0o 1.7 16.7 26.7 25.1 30.1 41.0 6.7 7.0 7.7 3.7 9.0 2.7
13oOptimal) 0.0 11.7 13.3 25.9 29.8 28.9 6.8 6.9 7.2 1.0 3.3 2.7
26o 3.3 18.3 20.0 36.7 46.2 34.6 5.8 6.5 6.6 2.7 7.3 5.3
39o 8.3 18.3 26.7 45.1 58.2 39.5 4.6 6.6 6.8 3.0 8.0 7.3

Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) Total chlorine (mg/L) Free chlorine (mg/L) Flow rates (L/s)
Standard*: >4.0 Standard: 10.0 Standard: 0.5 - 5.0
Water sources Rain Pond River Rain Pond River Rain Pond River Rain Pond River
Intake water 7.5 6.7 5.6 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.1 na*** na na
Position of Sand and clay
filter Effluents of raw water from the three sources passed through the system with sand and clay filter tilted at different angles
0o 7.5 7.2 6.1 1.4 1.4 1.0 0.7 1.0 0.7 0.069 0.071 0.022
13o (Optimal) 7.8 7.3 7.8 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.4 0.078 0.078 0.058
26o 8.1 7.8 8.1 1.1 2.8 2.9 0.9 1.1 1.8 0.072 0.072 0.049
39o 8.0 7.7 8.3 0.7 1.8 3.2 0.6 1.2 2.0 0.061 0.063 0.038
Remarks: * WHO (2011a) Standards. ** All values are means of three replicates. *** Not applicable

This is expected as Peters (2011) also found that rainwater
collected in the Caribbean Islands of Carriacou and Petite
Martinique was found to be free from odour, colour and
total suspended solids. Peters (2011), however, advocated
the disinfection of rainwater to reduce or eliminate
bacterial and other microbiological infections and the
treatment plant described in this study incorporated the
chlorination of water before passing it through the
activated carbon for further treatment.
When added to water, chlorine is known to destroy
microorganisms (WHO, 2011b) while activated carbon
filter also incorporated in this design, removes many
volatile organic chemicals, some pesticides, radon gas,
hydrogen sulphide as well as reduces odour, colour, and
taste problems such as the one from residual chlorine
(Dvorak, 2008). Since the value of the dissolved oxygen
in water was found to be high in these tested water, the
level of the biochemical oxygen demand, which indicates
the level of microorganisms in water was very low or non-
existent (Penn et al., 2006).
As showed in Table 1, the flow rates of water for both
rainwater and UWI engineering pond water were similar
for the corresponding angles of the sand and clay filter.
However for the river water, the flow rates for the various
angles were slower in comparison to the rain and pond
water. The flow rate through the system in all cases
generally increased when the position of the sand-clay
filter was changed from level (0o slope) to a slope of 13 o
and this is expected, as water flow rates are known to
increase with slope angle (Quansah, 1981).
However, when the slope was further increased to 26o
and 39o, flow rates decreased in all cases. This is because
increased slope of the sand-clay filter beyond 13o greatly
reduced the time raw water had to be in contact with the
filter for proper filtration to take place. The filter then
became less effective and physical particles in water were
allowed to pass through the filter and eventually increased
the colour, electrical conductivity and the turbidity of
water beyond WHO acceptable limits as reported earlier
in this paper. Due to these particles passing the filter, the
water entering the carbon filter took a longer time to be
filtered hence the reduction in flow rates with the 26o and
39o slopes (see Table 1). As usual, the 13o position of the
sand-clay filter produced the largest flow rates through the
system for the three water sources. The best of all the
tested positions of the sand-clay filter was therefore found
to be 13o. At this slope, the treated water through the
system had the least colour, electrical conductivity and
turbidity as well as the greatest flow rates through the
treatment plant and is therefore recommended for
effective treatment of water.
Results obtained in this study should be regarded as
preliminary. First, there is a need to determine the
optimum slope of the sand and clay filter for the best
water filtration. There is the need to also test the
sensitivity of this change in the slope on water filtration.
Furthermore, there is the need to continue testing this
device on a continuous basis for at least one (1) month. It
is supposed to maintain a reasonable flow rate without
choking as well as producing good effluents within that
period. The backwashing operation cycles and its residual
management are very important in its evaluation. This
would form part of a future study before this device will
be fully accepted as a viable water treatment plant. The
preliminary results obtained in this study are, however,
encouraging.
5. Conclusions
This paper has described the design, construction and
testing of a portable potable water treatment plant that is
 E.I. Ekwue et al.: A Simple Portable Potable Water Treatment Plant in Rural Areas
capable of purifying various types of fresh water to
acceptable levels for drinking. The design is
recommended to locations that do not have available or
reliable potable water. The design used was fabricated by
the use of readily available materials with a total cost of
eight hundred and forty United States dollars. The quality
of water produced was up to the standards established by
the World Health Organisation for drinking water,
especially when the sand and clay filter was operated at
the angle of 13o (WHO, 2011a). The level of testing of this
device should be continued so as to be adequate enough to
make a more definite statement of the effectiveness of the
system.
References:
Ahuja, S. (2009), Handbook of Water Purity and Quality, Academic
Press, New York
APHA (1998), Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater, 20th Edition, American Public Health Association,
Washington, D.C.
Alois, P. (2007), “Global water crises overview”, Arlington
Institute, Available at:
http://www.arlingtoninstitute.org/wbp/global-water-crisis/441
[Assessed 10/11/12].
Dvorak, B.I. (2008), “Drinking water treatment: Activated carbon
filtration”, NebGuide, University of Nebraska, Available at:
http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1489/build/g1489.pdf
[Accessed 8/11/12].
Ekwue, E.I., and Ramdeen, R.J. (2004), “Preliminary feasibility
study of a sand – clay filter for treating surface and industrial
wastewaters in Trinidad”, West Indian Journal of Engineering,
Vol.27, No.1, pp.50-56.
Fair, G.M. and Geyer, J.C. (1961), Water Supply and Wastewater
Disposal, Wiley, New York
IADB (2005), The Millennium Development Goals in Latin America
and the Caribbean: Progress, Priorities and IDB Support for
Their Implementation, Inter-American Development Bank,
Washington, D.C. Available at:
www.iadb.org/idbdocs.cfm?docnum=591088 [Accessed 8/11/12].
Peavy, H.B., Rowe, D.R. and Tchobanoglous, G. (1985),
Environmental Engineering, McGraw-Hill, New York
Penn, M.R., Pauer, J.J. and Mihelcic, J.R. (2006), “Environmental
and Ecological Chemistry, Vol. 2 – Biochemical Oxygen
Demand”, Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, Available from:
http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C06/E6-13-04-03.pdf
[Accessed November 11, 2012].
Peters, E.J. (2011), “Water quality or rainwater cisterns in the
Grenadines”, West Indian Journal of Engineering, Vol.33,
Nos.1/2, pp.56-64
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Vigneswaran, S. and Sundaravadivel, M. (2008), “Traditional and
household water purification methods of rural communities in
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Available at: http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C07/E2-14-
03-04.pdf [Accessed 8/11/12].
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Health Organisation, 4th edition, Available at:
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wq_guidelines/en/ [Accessed 8/11/12].
WHO (2011b), Measuring chlorine levels in water samples.
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Emergencies, World Health Organisation, Available at:
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n11_chlorine_levels_en.pdf [Accessed 8/11/12].
Authors’ Biographical Notes:
Edwin I. Ekwue is presently the Head of the Department of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Professor in
charge of the Biosystems Engineering program at The University of
the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. He is a member
of the Editorial Board of the West Indian Journal of Engineering.
His specialty is in Water Resources, Hydrology, Soil and Water
Conservation and Irrigation. His subsidiary areas of specialisation
are Structures and Environment, Solid and Soil Mechanics, where
he has teaching capabilities. Professor Ekwue has published widely.
He had served as the Deputy Dean (Undergraduate Student Affairs),
the Deputy Dean (Post-graduate Affairs and Outreach), the
Chairman of Continuing Education Committee, and the Manager of
the Engineering Institute in the Faculty of Engineering at UWI.
Vasant Dhanraj is a graduate of the Faculty of Engineering, The
University of the West Indies in 2012 majoring in Manufacturing
Engineering. He is a Mechanical Engineer with the Carillion
Caribbean Limited, Waterloo, Trinidad. His major interests are
rotating equipment, inspection and working with hands-on-
mechanical devices.
Robert A. Birch is an Instructor in the Department of Mechanical
and Manufacturing Engineering at The University of the West
Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. He is a registered
Professional Engineer (R.Eng) and Project Management
Professional (PMP) with over sixteen years of industrial and
teaching experience. He has a BSc. (Eng) and MPhil in Agricultural
Engineering from The University of the West Indies and is presently
pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Mr. Birch is a member
of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (UK). His interests are in
Field Machinery and Heavy Equipment Design, Fluid Power
Technology and Soil-Machine interaction.
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