Arsenic Removal Water Filter Design for Cottage Industry Manufacture

Status: Completed

Challenge Winners:

Tony Contento, Harendrakumar Dave, Brekke Van Slyke, Praveen Gupta

Winning Solutions:

Solution One – A water filter that can be built and sold locally. The novel tool not only removes arsenic from water but it can make a positive economic impact by creating a cottage industry. Water filters could also be made by repurposing aid grain sacks provided by organizations such as UNICEF and the Red Cross.

Solution Two – A water filter made from a plastic coated with cysteine. The amino acid binds arsenic, thereby removing the heavy metal from the water.

The Challenge

To design an inexpensive water filter that removes arsenic to less than 50 ppb (Bangladeshi standard) or, ideally, to less than 10 ppb (WHO standard). It must be designed so that it can be manufactured as a cottage industry in Bangladesh. It is essential that all of the money invested and earned in the manufacture will go to the local people doing the work.

It is OK to incorporate or adapt existing technologies, filter designs or filters that are in the public domain, i.e. no licensing is necessary.

Background

Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh is a serious problem. Seventy five million people are already at risk and 24 million more are continually exposed to arsenic contamination. Most of the recognized stages of arsenic poisoning have been identified in Bangladesh and the risk of arsenic poisoning in the population is increasing every day.

Criteria

Must Haves:

Low Cost – Manufacturing requires no expensive equipment or materials such that the average person/community in the developing world can afford to buy the filter; and,
Low Tech – Manufacturing process is easy for the average person to understand and there is no need for specialized expertise or high degrees of skill.

Nice to Haves:

List of sources for relatively inexpensive filter materials that are required in solution.

Additional Information

Gadgil Lab - Arsenic Removal
The Kanchan Arsenic Filter

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