DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTON OF HIGH REMOVAL EFFICENCY

OF PATHOGENIC MICROBIAL ORGANISMS AND FLOURIDE WITH

LOW COST CERAMIC WATER FILTER FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Proposed by :- Alemayehu Solomon

ID NO. GSR/0141/09

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 1. INTRODUCTION
 Currently, between 0.7 and 1.8 billion people in the world do not have access to
clean water
 WHO/UNICEF estimated that 57 % of Ethiopian households have access to improved
drinking water sources. However, still 43% of the total Ethiopian citizens and 51%
of the rural population still depends on unimproved drinking water sources for
day to day activities.
 Most of the rural population rely on unimproved water sources, such as rivers,
lakes, ponds, streams, rainwater, unprotected springs and wells, irrigation
water from canals and dams, as a source of water for drinking and other
domestic uses.
 About 3.4 million people, mostly children, die annually from water related
diseases. Out of this number, 2.2 million people die from diarrhoeal diseases
(including cholera) (Amenu, 2014).
 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the tolerance limit of
fluoride content of drinking water is 1.5 mg/L (WHO, 1993).
 Fluoride concentrations in the range (1.5-4) mg/L results in dental fluorosis
whereas with prolonged exposure within 4-10mg/L progresses to skeletal
fluorosis.

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  WHO acknowledged several Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS)
technologies for peoples who have no clean water sources nor adequate
infrastructure available.

Figure 1: the classification of HWTS technologies (Fane et al., 2011).

 Ceramic water filters would filter out most bacteria, viruses, sediments, VOCs, most
heavy metals, chlorine, radon, and reduce odor and bad tastes in water and it is the most
effective filtering media.
 To contribute to the manufacturing and production understanding of CWFP, Thus, is
chosen to be the focus of this project.

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 1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. Around 80 % of Ethiopian peoples are living in rural areas and uses ponds, rivers and lakes
as a drinking water source, which are highly contaminated.

 (43% of the total Ethiopian citizens and 51% of the rural population still
depends on unimproved drinking water sources for day to day activities. Even
though some urban peoples get supply of water through pipe, but it is almost
not safe for drinking.)
2. High mortality rate due to water-borne disease in developing countries like Ethiopia. 60 %
-80 % mortality rate accounts to water-borne disease in Ethiopia. [About 3.4 million
people, mostly children, die annually from water related diseases. Out of this number,
2.2 million people die from diarrhoeal diseases (including cholera) (Amenu, 2014). ]
3. Ethiopian Central Rift Valley (ECRV), where an estimated 8 million people are exposed to
high levels of naturally occurring fluoride which results in both dental and skeletal
fluorosis .
4. Government and many NGOs are still spending a lot of money to alleviate this problem
each year.
5. Lack of cost effective house hold water treatment technologies in the market (in Ethiopia
only slow sand water filter technology is present and it the most expensive one )

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 OBJECTIVE
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
 To develop the design and construct highly efficient ceramic pot water filter with low
cost, which have a high pathogenic microbial, fluoride and toxic metal removal
efficiency and provide safe drinking water to the whole low economic level peoples of
developing countries like Ethiopia.
 By providing affordable water filters to third world countries will greatly improve
people’s quality of living, and reduce the risk of any waterborne diseases therefore
saving lives.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. To determine the optimal ceramic water filter manufacturing process parameter range
according to pottery for peace (PFP, 2003) and engineers without borders (EWB,2009) filter
production requirement.
2. To develop design and construct both cement mold and manually driven jack hydraulic filter
press machine
3. To manufacture sample ceramic pot filter product and To determine average filtration
rate,physiochemical (including fluoride) and pathogenic microbial removal efficiency both
before and after silver nitrate coating by using four different water samples.
The result will be analyzed according to WHO (2006) and Ethiopian (2013) drinking water guide
lines.
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 4. To characterize raw materials (to find out their elemental chemical composition, thermal
analysis, crystal structure,) and final filter product ( to find out crystal structure and
surface morphology)
5. To investigate the effect of combustible material, temperature and particle size variation
and coating silver nitrate solution on filter performance of ceramic pot water filter
(CPWF) samples.
6. To compare the filtration rates of designed filters with theoretical models
7. In general to optimize the filter performance of porous ceramic pot water filter through
control of the microstructure

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 2. LITRATURE REVIEW
2.1 WATER BORNE PATHOGENS AND DISEASES
 The disease caused by water related microorganisms is divided into four main
classes (WHO, 2006) ;
I. Water-borne diseases : caused by water contaminated by human, animal or
chemical wastes (cholera, typhoid, meningitis, dysentery, hepatitis, and diarrhea),
II. Water-related vector diseases: diseases that transmitted by vectors, such as
mosquitoes (malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever and filaria),
III. Water-based diseases : Parasitic aquatic organisms transmitted via skin
penetration or contact ( ex. Guinea worm disease, filaria, paragonimia,
clonorchiasis, and schistosomiasis
IV. Water-scarce diseases: These diseases flourish in conditions where freshwater is
scarce and sanitation is poor (ex. include trachoma and tuberculosis)

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  Major pathogens (diseases causing organisms) causing water
borne disease are (WHO, 2004):
I. Bacteria (e.g. salmonella, shigella – causing bacillary

dysentery, cholera),

II. Viruses (hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, rotavirus), and

III.Other parasites including protozoa (cryptosporidium,

giardia, toxoplasma) and helminthes.

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 2.2 OTHER DISEAS BY CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS
2.2.1 FLOURIDE AND FLOURISIS IN ETHIOPIA
Table : Fluoride
 Ethiopian concentration
Central Rift in where
Valley (ECRV), well, Spring and Tap
an estimated water people
8 million collected
arefrom
exposed to
different regions of Ethiopia that exceeded the WHO guideline (1.5 mg/L) (Alemu et al.
high levels of naturally occurring fluoride.
2015)
 Fluoride is found to be occur naturally as sellaite (MgF2), fluorspar (CaF2), cryolite (Na3AlF6)

and fluorapatite [3Ca3(PO4)2Ca(F,Cl2)].

 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the tolerance limit of fluoride content
of drinking water is 1.5 mg/L (WHO, 1993). Fluoride concentrations in the range (1.5-4)
mg/L results in dental fluorosis whereas with prolonged exposure within 4-10mg/L
progresses to skeletal fluorosis.

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 Table : Fluoride concentrations that have exceeded more from WHO
guideline in their drinking water source (Alemu et al. 2015)

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 2.2 HOUSEHOLD WATER TREATMENT AND SAFE STORAGE OPTIONS

Figure: the classification of HWTS technologies (Fane et al., 2011).

(Bielefeldt et al., 2010).

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 CERAMIC FILTERS AS HWTS
 Three main geometrical shapes are often reported and adopted in literature: disk,
candle and pot/frustum geometrical shapes (Dies 2003, Simonis and Basson,
2011; 2013).

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 MECHANISMS OF FILTRATION IN POROUS MEDIA

Figure: Schematic diagram of the types of pores (Xiaolong 2005)

I. Mechanical screening:
II. Mechanical screening:
III. Diffusion:
IV. Chemical activity:
V. Biological activity:

Figure : Schematic diagram of the mechanism of filtration (Doris 2006).

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  The properties of different types of metallic metals and metallic oxides such as
copper, silver and zinc, and their mechanism of action as antimicrobial, antifungal
and antiviral agents is given below.

 The ceramic water filter utilizes the following modes of action to deactivate
microorganisms:
I. Catalytic oxidation
II. Catalytic reduction/oxidation :
III.Reaction of silver ions with bacterial cell membrane:
 The order of antimicrobial activity of metal oxides was demonstrated as follows
AgO > ZnO > CuO > FeO (Azam et al., 2012).

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 FACTOR AFFECTING FILTER PERFORMANCE
I. Porosity: is a measure of the volume of empty space, or pores, in a medium.
Filters showing a large pore size will not be as efficient at removing turbidity
and/or bacteria from water as filters having a small pore size(Yoko et al., 2002).
II. Water Turbidity:-Water containing high organic concentration and/or many
suspended particles will slow down the flow rate of water by progressively
clogging the ceramic pores. This will affect the volume of filtered water
collected(Lantagne, 2001).
III. Filter Thickness:- Filters with thin shells allow water to flow through the
element faster (greater flow rate), holding other variables constant. However,
thin filters may not be as effective as thick filters at removing turbidity and
microbiological contamination (Franz, 2004).
IV. Filter Surface Area:- filters with a larger surface area would have a greater
flow rate, as there is more space for water to flow through. Conversely, filters
with small surface areas would have slower flow rates (Halem, 2006).

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 V. Water Pressure (Elevation):- Height of water above the filter element, also known as
fluid pressure or hydraulic head, would affect flow rate.

 The greater the height/volume of water, the more pressure on the filter element, and
thus the more flow through the pores in a given time period.

 The flow rate concomitantly decreases as the water level declines over time (i.e. as
water is filtered) (Franz, 2004).

VI. Water Quality:-Polluted water would oftentimes clog the filter, resulting in the need for
more frequent cleaning of the filter element.

 For highly turbid waters, sedimentation or coagulation can be used pre-filtration to

remove large particles, thus allowing for an increase in flow rate (Matteiletea, 2006).

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 ANALYTICAL MODEL ON FILTRATIO RATE OF CPWF
 The analytical model of the
discharge through the filter
is based on the Darcy's law
(Doris 2006 and Bear 1972).

𝑲 𝐏
𝑸=
𝑳 µ
𝐏=𝝆 𝐠(𝒉 ( 𝒕 ) − 𝒚 ) 𝒓 ( 𝒚 )= 𝑹+𝒚𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝜽 𝐴=𝜋 𝑟 2

The overall flow rate of the filter Qtotal l,

is give by the summation of Qb and Qs

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 PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON CPWF PERFORMANCE

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 RESEARCH GAP ON CPWF
1. The investigation in this project will be carried out from raw material to the final
product will be analyzed to arrive right conclusion
2. The influence of the microstructure on the filter product performance is not
analyzed in any paper before
3. The effect of variation of combustible materials, particle size, and firing
temperature on filter performance is not analyzed together
4. It just fist time CPWF is analyzed for DEFLUORIDATION
5. Low cost design development and construction of both the cement mold and jack
hydraulic filter press is also the first time in Ethiopia
6. Finally, it just for the first time in Ethiopia CPWF to be fabricated practically and
to analyze both physiochemical and microbiological removal efficiency
 This project is expected to solve a country level problem. Beside to these, it just
to contribute to the manufacturing and production understanding of CPWF.
That just the reason why this project is chosen.
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 METHODOLOGY
1. EVALUATIONS OF OPTIMUM FILTER MANUFACTURING PARAMETERS

I. Test for the Water of Plasticity

 This test determines the amount of water required for clay to become workable, of the
desired consistency.

II. Shrinkage

 Knowing the total shrinkage rate of the filter mixture will be useful for designing molds of
the proper dimensions so that after firing the filter element will fit precisely inside the
available receptacle
III. Percent Absorption (Porosity)
 The degree of water absorption of the fired clay, or percentage porosity, is also a
measure of the maturity of a fired clay body.
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 2. DEVELOPING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF BOTH CEMENT MOLD
AND FILTER PRESS MACHINE

I. LOW COST CEMENT MOLD DESIGN

Figure: AUTO CAD 2010 filter design and its dimensions

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 Figure: flat cement mold and CPWF design
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 II. LOW COST JACK HYDRAULIC FILTER PRESS DEVELOPMENT

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3. CERAMICS POT WATER FILTER (CPWF) SAMPLE PREPARATION TECHNIQUE

Pulverizing and
sieving clay raw
materials

Firing Pure
Pulverizing and Mixing
Filter Surface Air water
ingredient wedging green
sieving combustible pressing finishing drying soaking
powder filters
raw materials
CPWF
product
Pre-
Pulverizing and
Physiochemical
sieving grog
testing Pre-Flow
Preparatio
Coated Coating n of silver rate
Filter
Filter AgN03 nitrate testing
drying
drying
solution biocide Pre-
solution Microbiological
testing
Post-
Physiochemical
testing
Pre-Flow
rate finish
testing
Post-
Microbiological
testing

Figure : CWFP production and filter performance tests

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 4. CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUE
I. POWDER X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD) ANALYSIS :
 X ray powder diffractometer (XRD- 7000S, Dangil shimadzu) to analysis the crystal
structure of the powder of ansho and babuwoha kaolin clay powder, grog (unfired brick),
laterite and fired filter product powder samples

II. SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM) ANALYSIS

:
 The surface morphology analysis of CPWF product sample were carried out using a
NOVA NANO SEM 230 (FEI) scanning electron microscope with the VCD detector in
high vacuum.
 Samples will be sputter coated with gold to reduce static charging just before SEM
analyses.
 In addition to the morphological analysis, the elemental composition of CPWF
product sample will be analyzed by Energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) which
works coupling to SEM device
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 III. DIFFERENTIAL THERMOGRAVIMETRIC(DTG) ANALYSIS

 The thermal stability and fraction of volatile components of ansho and

babuwoha kaolin clay powder, grog (unfired brick), laterite and fired filter
product powder samples will carried out in air by using a Dangil shimadzu
DTG-60 instrument in the temperature range of 30-900°C and at a heating
rate of 20°C/min by taking sample of 4 to 5 mg weight.

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 5. FILTER PERFORMANCE TESTING METHODS
I. Filtration Rate Test:
 First all CPWF samples will be soaked in pure distilled water
containing bow plastic container for 24 hours.
 Then each filter sample elements will be tested by using T-device
(T- shaped pipe having mili liter mark on it).
 Flow rate will be easily determined, reading the volume of water
level drop on T- device per an hour.

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 II. Physiochemical Removal Efficiency Test
 The major physicochemical parameters will be analyzed in Mojo Nalgoda
water quality analysis research institute.
 Temperature and pH was analyzed using portable digital pH meter (Jenway
model- 370, England).
 Total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity were analyzed
using portable digital conductivity meter (CC-401, Poland).
 Turbidity by using portable microprocessor turbidity meter (H193703 ELE
international, Hungary)
 Dissolved oxygen (DO) by using waterproof oxygen meter (CO-411, Poland).
 Free residual fluorine and chlorine test by using Portable comparator disk
(Wagtech, UK)
 Nitrate and phosphate was measured using HACH DR/2010

Materialsspectrophotometer.
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 III. Microbiological Removal Efficiency Test
 With regard to bacteriological parameters, samples were analyzed
using membrane filtration (MF) method for water quality to
determine the degree of contamination (WHO, 2006; APHA, 1998).
 This test will be carried out in Oromia water mineral and energy
bureau water quality control laboratory, which is found in Adiss
Ababa town, capital city of Ethiopia.
 It is around 89 km far from Nazret (Adama) town and takes one hour
on the main road.
 Four water samples were analyzed for the presence of total coliforms (TC), faecal
coliforms (FC) and faecal Streptococci (FS).
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 EXPECTED RESULT
1. The microbial removal efficiency is expected to fall in between 99-99.99 % that
means from 0-100 CFU/ 100ml of both E.coli and total coliform.

2. Its physiochemical analysis result is expected to have color < 15 TFU, turbidity <5
NTU, residual fluoride concentration <1.5 gm/lit, hardness <300 mg/lit as
CaCo3,its PH 6.5 – 8.5, Residual chlorine <0.5 gm/lit, and Total dissolved solids
(TDS) <1000 mg/lit,

3. Its porosity result is expected to fall in between 30%- 44% and its filtration rate
1-3 lit/hr which will be sufficient for eight member family for access of around
36 liter safe drinking water per a day.

4. The overall expected result is expected to satisfy all the requirement of Ethiopian
(2011) and WHO (2006) standard drinking water guide line and to get legally
qualified certificate for CPWF product as national level.
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3.1 Tentative time schedule
TENTATIVE TIME SCHEDULE
Task January February March April
name
Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2
`evaluating process
prameters
Preparation of
cement mold
Construction of jack
hydraulic filter press

Preparation of
CPWF samples

Raw material and

product
Characterization
Pre-filtration rate
test

Dilute silver nitrate

preparation and
application
Post- filtration rate
test

Physiochemical
removal efficiency
test
Microbiological
removal efficiency
test
Finishing Project
Paper work

Note that: project running schedule is designed according to post graduate academic
calendar.

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