Grantee Research Project Results
Biochar-Geomedia Water Filter for the Colonias, South Texas
EPA Grant Number: SU839900Title: Biochar-Geomedia Water Filter for the Colonias, South Texas
Investigators: Kang, James Jihoon , Kim, Jomgmin
Institution: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020 (Extended to September 30, 2021)
Project Amount: $24,875
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2019) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil/Water , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Urban Air Toxics
Description:
Along the U.S.-Mexico border, about 400,000 low-income, immigrant Latinos have settled in Colonias in Texas - residential subdivisions, usually low-lying areas of a county, lacking the basic services such as water and sewer, paved roads, electricity, and drainage. The colonia households near Donna Canal and Reservoir (Superfund site) in Hidalgo County, Texas, have concerns about their tap water quality due to elevated level of lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). Thus, colonia residents often rely on bottled water and water mill, resulting in an economic burden to the communities. The proposed project is designed to address basic sanitation and drinking water for homes in disadvantaged communities - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources. To this end, the project team will develop a prototype of point-of-use treatment system as a pour-through filter. The goal of project is to develop a low-cost filter made of locally-sourced biomass and geomaterial (pumice) in mixed-media, benefiting the colonia communities as an alternative to expensive commercial water filter systems.
Objective:
Contribution to Pollution Prevention and Control: The outcome of this project will contribute to the development of an appropriate technology to remove contaminants such as lead and PCBs in water through beneficial reuse of available bio- and geomaterials (otherwise wasted). The design and concept of the filter could be adopted to other pollution prevention and control such as stormwater filter media and industrial wastewater treatment.
Approach:
Not one piece of treatment manages all contaminants. The P3 project will be tailored to remove impurities, particularly lead and PCBs in tap water from the targeted colonias in Hidalgo County, Texas. A pour-through filter will be constructed with mixed media (biochar and pumice), which can be obtained locally. The PI and one of student team members in this proposal have been investigating aqueous heavy metal removal using biochars synthesized from various biomasses. The P3 project will produce biochars from selected local biomass (e.g., mesquite wood, avocado seed, and white oak acorn) and conduct batch adsorption test for lead and PCB removal as part of biochar screening. Pumice, a volcanic rock with highly vesicular texture and high porosity, is often found to floating on the beach area in South Texas due to its low density. A mixed-media filter consisting of biochar and pumice will be developed and will be tested for the efficiency of contaminant removal and filtration rate. The proposed project reflects the P3 approach: People (disadvantaged community), prosperity (reducing financial burden to the colonias and community-engaged service and learning), the planet (beneficial reuse of biomass and geomaterial).
Expected Results:
The project team will obtain the following information for optimizing the biochar-pumice filter system: 1) adsorption capacity of biochars and/or pumice for aqueous lead and PCBs under batch condition, 2) effect of grain size of biochars on the contaminant removal efficiency and filtration rate, 3) mixing ratio of biochar and pumice media, 4) filter life-time through breakthrough curve experiment, and 5) optimization of biochar + pumice pour-through filter. The filter will be constructed in transparent casing for better visualization and potential detection of microbial growth inside. The proposed project outcomes are 1) screening tool for biochar selection, 2) design parameters for optimizing the filter, and 3) a proto-type biochar-pumice filter with > 95 % of lead and PCB removal efficiency. Project findings will be disseminated through presentations, publication, and/or demonstration to various audiences while DIY (Do-It-Yourself) knowledge gained from the project will be transferred to the target colonia community.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 4 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Biochar, Pumice, Water filter, Lead, PCBs, Adsorption, Breakthrough CurveProgress and Final Reports:
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.