Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Portable Solar Water Purification System for Public Use during Disaster Recovery
EPA Grant Number: SU835290Title: Portable Solar Water Purification System for Public Use during Disaster Recovery
Investigators: Tang, Yan , Compere, Marc , Wong, Yung , Pinto, Shavin , Solorzano, Geovanni
Institution: Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2012 through August 14, 2014 (Extended to August 14, 2015)
Project Amount: $89,944
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2012) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Relationship to people, prosperity and the planet
Water plays an important role in human development. However, potable drinking water becomes a precious commodity for people struggling to survive in disaster areas or developing countries without reliable water infrastructure. It has been pointed in [1] that activities to improve water form an entry point to human development and poverty elimination. Increasing the supply of improved source of water has become the international development target developed by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). WSSCC expects to reduce by one-half the proportion of people without sustainable access to adequate quantities of affordable and safe water by 2015 [1].
Our EPA P3 project was intended to resolve the water crisis in the aftermath of disasters by designing a portable solar powered water purification unit for disaster relief scenarios. The unit (Figure 1), named DROP (Disaster Ready Onsite Purifier), is composed of three-stage water purification components, an inline pump, and a foldable solar power unit housed in a backpack for easy transport to relief areas by commercial airline. The unit can be transportable by a single person and deployed in less than 10 minutes by non-technical personnel using universally understood pictorial instructions. Post disaster rescue, relief, and recovery teams can use this portable water filtration system to produce drinking water out of standing, stagnant water without relying on local power sources.
Figure 1. DROP (Disaster Ready On-site Purifier)
The long term objective is to provide a viable business mechanism to stimulate the US and foreign economies in both disaster relief situations and normal use for developing countries. With the business plan, this proposed work addresses all three of the EPA’s three P’s: it promotes improvement inPeople’s quality of life with better drinking water, it promotes people’sProsperityas a potential business both in the US and developing countries and, because it is solar powered, it is friendly to thePlanet.
This P3 project will help provide safe drinking water to people in post-disaster areas or developing countries without access to potable water. Our design is mainly focused on four aspects: water quality, portability, the use of solar energy, and user friendliness. Tackling these challenges will help increase accessibility and affordability of clean drinking water, the two major issues in water crisis [1].
One of the challenges in maintaining water quality is to remove water-borne bacteria and viruses, such as hepatitis A and E. coli. The filtration approach for pathogen removal will greatly help improve life quality by reducing contaminated water related disease. Figure 2 shows that viruses are between 0.01 and 0.1 micron. We chose a membrane filter at the lower end of this range to account for all the viruses that may have contaminated a water source. Sunshine Works also employs ultrafiltration membranes. However, their membrane filter is rated at 0.1 micron which is at the higher end of the range for the size of viruses. In a disaster situation, water conditions are hard to predict because of flooding, and strong winds. To fully protect the health of the people, an ultrafiltration membrane with a pore size of roughly 0.01 micron is highly recommended.
Figure 2. Filtration Application Guide for Pathogen Removal [2]
In order to reach disaster areas or areas with water crisis as fast as possible, the unit needs to be portable. In areas with water crisis, people may often face issues with primitive road transportation. The major methods of road transportation may still be horses or even humans. The backpack size allows the system to be transported by these approaches. This minimizes the time that disaster victims are left without safe water.
The system is designed to use solar power, and it is also compatible to operate from an external 12V battery during the absence of sunlight. With a flow rate of 2-3gpm, the system will supply potable water for 750-1000 people a day in a fast and efficient manner. The system will take less than 10 minutes to set up and is designed for use by non-technical personnel. Maintenance will require a simple filter change. As the system operates on existing and common components that will be available off the shelf, replacements will be easy to find and affordable. All these features yield simple and efficient use of the system.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
In the original proposal, a solar powered backpack water purification system was proposed. The system was to be market competitive in the areas of water quality, portability, and self-sustainability. The following will compare actual accomplishments to the initial proposed system characteristics.
The quality of the water from the system must be at a quality that is safe for human consumption. The initial filtration process included a hose pre-strainer to prevent large sediments and sticks to enter the system, a 5 micron sediment filter to remove sand and dirt, a 0.1 micron membrane filter to remove microbiological material, and finally a carbon filter to improve taste and smell of the effluent. During Phase II, the team decided to research further purification processes. Through this research, a completely new filtration process was developed. The process included a hose pre-strainer, a 2 micron sediment filter, and a combination electro-positive and carbon media filter to remove bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and improve smell and taste in one cartridge. This new process decreased the number of filters necessary, as well as the overall pressure of the system.
For portability, the max dimensions of the system were to not exceed airline checked luggage size requirement and the weight to not exceed 60 pounds. The initial system prototype exceeded the size requirement and weighed more than 60 pounds because of the use of a heavy duty Pelican case. Through several iterations, the system was able to meet airline check in luggage size requirement while weighing only pounds. The following figures show several system iterations from a Pelican case, to a fiberglass backpack, and finally to a soft-case with foam padding for protection.
Figure 3. Pelican Case Used Figure 4. Fiberglass Backpack Figure 5. Final Softcase Form in Initial Prototype Prototype.
The use of solar power and battery storage to achieve self-sustainability was also a major factor in gaining a competitive advantage. The original system design required two 135W foldable solar panels weighing 9 pounds each. Since the new filtration process had a much lower overall pressure, a less powerful pump could be used; thereby requiring much less power input from the solar panels. The final design required one 120W foldable solar panel weighing only 6 pounds.
Conclusions:
During the first half of Phase II, the team focused on the redesign of the system. The second half, the team started a company called AquaSolve Ventures, LLC after receiving widespread interest in the system. They renamed the AquaPack system to DROP, or Disaster Relief Onsite Purifier. During this time, the team began to investigate the cost to manufacture the system. The final cost to the consumer was $7,200 with nearly 30% of the cost being the cost of just the solar panel and controller alone which we learned later impacted the appeal to certain markets. In the initial proposal, the team described multiple markets to tackle including first response locations such as police and fire departments as well as hospitals, military, and developing countries. In addition to these markets, the team explored the potential in the outdoor enthusiast, disaster response, and disaster prepper markets.
The system itself still has the same benefits to people, prosperity, and the planet as was described in the initial proposal. The reduced environmental impact from not having to rely on bottled water, the improved quality of life for those who use the system in areas that do not have a reliable source of clean water, and the various potential applications for the technology. While exploring which markets would in fact purchase systems, the team quickly found that the price was prohibitive to the first response, developing countries, outdoor enthusiast, and disaster prepper markets. Although the portability and quantity of produced water were attractive, the $7,200 price tag was not appealing and did not fit within their budgets. That left the military and disaster response markets.
Speaking with the Marine Corps, the team learned that getting the NSF P248 certification was necessary for them just to evaluate the system. The cost for this test ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 which is a substantial amount of money for a brand new startup. Investors would also be hesitant to invest this much money without the guarantee of a contract. If the team passed this rigorous testing and got the certification, securing a contract with the military could take years to come through. Without supplementary income from other markets, this market alone would not be worth to continue pursuing the business.
The team also spoke with a Senior Advisor for the Red Cross who was interested in the technology. After speaking with the decision makers within the Red Cross, the team was informed that the Red Cross was not interested in taking on this technology as since they operated on volunteers, the weight of the system would be prohibitive. However, weighing the equivalent to a 24 pack of water or 28 pounds, one DROP system could be taken further out in disaster locations, set up in minutes, and serve hundreds of people. Without a reliable market to take the system to, the team decided to put the business aside and explore licensing options with established companies.
References:
- Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council,Vision 21: A shared vision for hygiene, sanitation and water supply and a framework for action, 2000.
- United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Water,Membrane filtration guidance manual: DIANE Publishing, 2005.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 4 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
drinking water, health, solar energy, water purification, membrane filtration, disaster relief, sustainableProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Portable Solar Water Purification System for Public Use during Disaster Recovery | Final ReportThe 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.