Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Joseph Angeli
1374 S. Union Avenue
Alliance, OH 44601
(330) 312-6829
angelijp@mountunion.edu
April 28th, 2015
Dr. Helen Muga
Professor at The University of Mount Union
1972 Clark Avenue
Alliance, OH 44601
April 28th, 2015
submitted to
Dr. Helen Muga
Professor - Civil Engineering
by
Joseph Angeli
Department of Engineering
Univeristy of Mount Union
1972 Clark Avenue
Alliance, Ohio 44601-3993
Executive Summary
Haiti is a country that has been water deprived for years, and is the poorest
country in the western hemisphere. In attempt to reduce the clean water need an
alternative and innovative solution is prompted in this report. This alternative solution
design is one that will definitely fill the needs that developing countries, like Haiti, are
struggling with every day. All of the background on the problem identification, as well as
product needs are specified in order to base the design off of. Research of other
technologies that are already being utilized to day are weighed and are benchmarked to
ensure effectiveness. The complete design is specified along with materials,
manufacturing, use instruction, and even to product end life instruction. In the end, this
end product of this innovative water solution will definitely take a good weight off of the
never ending water need, leading to a safer, and healthier Haiti in the years to come.
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Table of Contents
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Methodology ............................................................................................<10>
3.1.............................................Selection of Design Criteria or Constraints
....................................................................................................................<10>
3.2.....................................Development of Innovative, Alternative Solution
....................................................................................................................<12>
Results .....................................................................................................<14>
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.1.4
4.1.................................................................................................Final Design
....................................................................................................................<14>
Design Specification/Summary & Drawings of Solution...<14>
Material Requirements and Costs....<18>
Operation and Maintenance Plans...<18>
End of Product Life Cycle Plans.......<19>
4.2.........................................Manufacturing Process for Making Prototype
....................................................................................................................<19>
4.3Design of Experimental Trial or Procedure to Test
Solution...<20>
5 Conclusions .............................................................................................<21>
References .....................................................................................................<22>
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List of Tables
Table 1: Project Constraints and Current Technology Benchmarks.... <11>
List of Figures
Figure 1 EPA Water Flow Research Results ..... <8>
Figure 2 Conceptual Method 1....... <9>
Figure 3 Conceptual Method 2... <9>
Figure 4 Solar Still Concept . <13>
Figure 5 Sealed Boiler Concept .. <13>
Figure 6 Sketch of Technology Integration . <14>
Figure 7 Sketch of Atmosphere Representation .... <15>
Figure 8 Sketch of Solar Still ... <16>
Figure 9 Sketch of Integrated Rain Catcher . <17>
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1 Introduction
5.1
Some of the things that we take for granted here in one of the most developed countries in
the world that some parts of the world have a very hard time with. People living in these
countries go through constant hardships such as poverty, health issues, and gender inequality.
These are just a few, among many of the problems that happen in the developing countries of the
world. These problems are listed out in the United Nations goal plan: The Millennium
Development Goals (MDG). However, the main MDG issue that will be observed here is the lack
of access to clean water.
In todays world, a third problem that developing countries face is the use of unsafe water.
768 million people in the world today still drink unsafe water on a daily basis. This is because of
unknown bad hygiene and non-existent sanitation. One group that continues to try and help with
this common issue is the charity UNICEF. They try to instill safe water by giving safe hygiene
habits and put in place correct sanitation in order for these developing countries to start on the
right track of getting good, safe water. Allowing for safer water and better hygiene and sanitation
will also decrease illness spreading and overall health (Water).
Developing countries face lots of problems in todays world, especially way more than
just these three. But between the efforts of charities, the United Nations, and caring others, the
world can begin to end these issues once and for all. That will lead into a better world to live in
and preserve.
5.2
Some of the current technologies that are being used to help fight the issue of lack of access
to clean water are being implemented already. Some of these include drilling into groundwater
tables for wells, which is where most of the earths clean water is located or use rain catchers in
some areas in order to solve the water problems. However, to give it an exact cost or unit price
cannot happen because the price per project varies under the different conditions. Sometimes
villages are spread out across their country. This fluctuates with different geology, the local
climates, and the different technologies that are used. Some villages may find that a full-fledged
well may not be the best option there, and maybe a rain catcher would be the best most efficient
option. The cost variance makes it close to impossible to give a specific analyzed cost estimate of
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the solution. Also, another commonly used solution that may be a bit more of a shorter term
solution is chlorine. Having chlorine can kill tons of viruses and other bad bacteria in water
making it perfectly usable and drinkable. All of these solutions are work well, and are currently
utilized technologies that are successfully fighting the water problems across the globe.
However, sometimes these options do have their own limiting factors. One example of a
limitation is that the wells can sometimes not be drilled. This can be because of simply not having
the equipment to do so, or even be in a geographically challenged place that drilling equipment
could not be brought to. This could be that there are too many mountains or too swampy of area
that the equipment could not be brought through, or even to the fact that the groundwater is not
good. This could be because of too much salt content, such as coastal areas, where the
groundwater is unusable. Rain catching has a very obvious limiting factor and that is the possible
lack of rain. This can affect areas that do not get as much as well as times when some areas are
not in a rainy season. So this can be limited by both geography and climate, which makes
rainwater catching a very limiting solution that relies on many other factors. As for chlorine, the
only real limiting factor that is there is access to the chemical, and the fact that it is a short term
solution. Since it is an access problem, it is limited by the amount of supply, as well as the ways
that it can be distributed. So this means that areas that may be harder to get to geographically may
be more limited than those with easy access with roads, and on coasts.
However, in the end, all of these solutions do not really have any real big alternate
methods, however, costs can be cut by the approach taken with the solutions. Such as efficiently
implementing them where they are needed. Such as it may be more feasible to put one well in
between two close villages rather than two separate wells in each village. Or such as utilizing rain
catchers in areas that partake in long rainy seasons, or where rain may be the most viable option.
Also, the strategy of how the solutions are implemented are ways to also keep the costs down.
This can be done by ways such as utilizing solutions where there are the biggest populations, and
then moving from village to village in the most efficient ways of travel as possible, rather than
skipping all over to certain areas. This all being said, there are not really any significant cost
lowering options that will lower costs drastically.
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5.3
In solving the water problem in Haiti, there are already some investments in place that are
already making strides to better, clean access to water. These investments go from everything
from the workforce from multiple different organizations, to even the financial support from
supporters that pay for new innovative solutions to be made, both long and short term.
Some organizations that are involved are, USAID, WHO, UN, Coca-Cola, Caterpillar,
The Water Project, UNICEF, among many others all have some sort of investment in place to
help with the water crisis in developing country. USAID is the United States Agency of
International Development. They much like the UN and the WHO (World Health Organization)
are major large scale organization dedicated solely on working to end third world problems in
developing countries. USAID for example puts an average of $500 million into trying to solve
just water access problems. USAID has a policy for their water solutions, called the USAID
Water and Development Strategy. It is a set out plan for what they plan to do and where they
would like to be from 2013-2018. Not only does it give specific objectives that they deem fit, but
also where the funds will be allocated to which sub-programs. These large scale policies that
these organizations are putting out there are for areas of big change that involve both short term
and long term solutions that, while short term solutions are most of the time necessary, they focus
on trying to instill long-term solutions that will be sustainable and become a real solution to the
issue at hand ("Water and Development Strategy").
Other organizations such as Caterpillar and Coca-Cola are just a few of the many
companies that have set aside funds and other resources to also try to help fight these clean water
issues. Caterpillar just this year has already set aside $11 million to put to use for better clean
cook stove initiatives and for water charity. Their mission is to bring clean and safe drinking
water to every person in the world. This is done by helping fund the building of a pipeline that
reaches many places in developing countries in Africa. This donation alone from Caterpillar will
be enough funding to get through two more developing nations. Although this solution is big
upfront costs and really thrives on donation funding like through Caterpillar, it is a great low cost,
and low maintenance solution that will be a very long-term one. Now Coca-Cola has something
in plan as well. Coca-Cola has done major strides in some countries by even being the first ones
to install the countries first water treatment plant. They have innovation being instilled in
countries that treat wastewater correctly for more sanitary drinking water collection which also
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keeps away disease. They also have some money set aside for heling the funding of bigger
organizations such as USAID and others. But in the end, Coca-Cola, and other companies,
especially International companies, like Coca-Cola, are trying to help give investments that are
trying to implement long-term, sustainable solutions across the globe ("Water Stewardship").
In the very same way, there are other organizations with investments in place just like the
big government funded ones like the WHO and USAID, but are smaller based and are still
making huge strides in global clean water. These organizations such as the water project travel
across developing countries instilling wells and other solutions such as rain catchers to help put
more long-term solutions that are sustainable to try and get safe, clean drinking water for
everyone.
6 Problem Definition
6.1
There are a lot of specific problems that lie within the big problem itself of lack of clean
water access. For the individual project tasked with, I have decided to narrow down the problem
to the problem of taking water that is already available and making it drinkable/useable. So
essentially, rather than trying to create access to clean water, with things such as rain catchers and
wells that are sustainable, what is being looked into is some sort of way to solve the problem of
making water that is already accessible drinkable through some sort of way of filtration or other
methods.
There wasnt any outside sources used to come up with this more specific problem, and
there is no more information to complete a 2 page summary of just this specific problem. But to
conclude, the specific need that will be addressed with this individual project will be the need for
innovative ways to filter the water that already may be accessible. The filter must, more
specifically, remove any diseases or pathogens that may lie within the water, as well as any
unwanted solids, or other unwanted materials, which will make the water good to drink without
any health problems stemming from it. This method doesnt necessarily have to be short-term or
long-term, but it will have the need of being sustainable and low-cost, and ultimately in the end,
successful in making the water drinkable for a safer, and healthier community.
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6.2
There are a few different efforts being made to make strides in new research and
development of new technologies to solve water treatment, not only in Haiti, but all over the
developing world.
One group that is putting forth research to find safe and sustainable water resources is the
EPA. They have and still are completing research as according to their Strategic Research Action
Plan 2012-2016. They are approaching their research with an integrated systems in order to
develop innovations that are needed to ensure clean, adequate, and equitable supplies of water.
They are also researching for solutions that are easily self-sustainable. Below in Figure 1, can be
seen an example of one of the diagrams they have created with the research that they have found
out about how water flows through the environment. Research results like this can be utilized to
figure out where to target solutions to try and fix problems that may exist with how the water is
flowing. They then take this data and then try to implement multiple conceptual models on how
to handle each situation differently. Two different conceptual models can be seen in Figures 2 and
3. This is just one way that research is done to try and make an effort to finding innovative
solutions to finally solving the water treatment dilemma. (US EPA)
Figure 1 EPA Water Flow Research Results: (US EPA)
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6.3
The alternate solution that is being developed will need to be able to cover some basic
requirements or needs. Those needs are as follows: The solution needs to
maintenance.
Be able to create as much clean water as quickly as possible
Not be dependent on any electrical source
Be easy to operate with little to no instruction or prior education
Have the ability to be assembled on the Ground
Be able to withstand the heavy climate and tropical storms.
Be able to filter almost all sources of water
Be able to filtrate effectively Removing all viruses, toxins, and unwanted solids.
Be able to provide water without any aftertaste (Like with Chlorine)
7 Methodology
7.1
After the specific needs that the solution product were determined, there needed to be
design constraints with specific values made. These constraints needed to have units and made
reflecting the needs in the best suitable way possible based on past experience and research. In
order to do this, the constraint criteria were weighed against other current technologies other
there today to get a base of whats out there, and what can be done and made better. This allows
for a fair assessment of what the constraints are in order for the alternative solution for Haitis
water problem to be one that is effective in filling the need for clean water effectively and
efficiently. The design criteria and benchmarked constraints can be seen in Table 1.
Current Technologies
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Constraint
Cost
Size / Mobility
LifeStraw Family
Pump Filter
~$80
depending on
volume bought
filter
Just over 8 x 8
2 x 8
Decently difficult.
Ease of Use
Very Easy: No
Pumping, No
chemicals
requires constant
Designed to sustain
Sustainability
cleaning of filter.
Designed to sustain
a family for 18
months
Prior Education
Effectiveness
7.2
Chlorine
About $.10 for a
96 fl oz bottle
A 96 fl. oz. bottle
Decently difficult,
has to be
maintained and
measured out.
filter needs
replaced
Just cleaning
Little to none
instructions
A good amount to
put in correct
amount
Removes all
Very effective at
used correctly,
removing bacteria,
doesnt remove
protozoa, and
possibility.
viruses.
(Pre-LifeStraw
Technology)
filtration system.
A new alternative technology that will fill the need for local water purification is one that
will need to be sustainable and attainable with local Haitian resources, and at a low cost
investment. The idea is to make some sort of modified version of a technology that was taught in
the Boy Scouts. The technique is called Solar Distillation.
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Solar Distillation is essentially taking the water from inside the earth and or water that is put
there on purpose, and letting the sunlight heat up the water to evaporate, and then catching the
evaporation water by having it condense on some sort of water resistance tarp or sheet of
material. then the alter that is condensed will run down the sheet of material to a central location
where the fresh, clean H2O will collect in some sort of pot or other water safe container, to be
stored until used. Now, taking that basic model and integrating a boiling model that would
dump steam inside of the system, which would speed up the process and be able to make
more clean water faster when needed, as well as integrating a rain catcher on the top, to
maximize efficiency.
The benefits of this model is to eliminate all pathogens, bacteria, and viruses that may exist
in the untreated water. This water can also be Salt water from the coast, in which Haiti has a lot
of. So this method will also eliminate the salt taste, as well as not involving any sort of chemicals
that would add a nasty, unpleasant chemical taste that makes the water unappealing to drink. This
would in the end be a low cost solution to water treatment that takes ideals from the basics of
water purification and makes it utilize both rainwater, ground water, and standing water, that can
be boiled down. So just about any water source can be purified with this method, maximizing
functionality. Diagrams of a Solar still and a sealed boiler can be seen below in Figure 4 and
Figure 5 on the next page (The Survivalists Enclave 2015).
The risks with this method is the fact that it needs to be sealed off and have the ability to be
stored safely. Also, this method would be moderately slow paced, not giving much water over
time. However, it is done with very low cost materials, and is a sustainable source of water. Also,
another downfall to this method, as with any sort of rain catcher, it will have to have regular
maintenance with cleaning and making sure that water collection is sanitary, which if it wasn't
defeats the entire purpose of the product. But it should be a good fit for Haiti, because of all the
natural sunlight and high temperatures that they have down there, as well as all of the rain, and
the fact that they are surrounded by undrinkable salt water. All of this together should in the end
give a dependable, and sustainable solution to help solve Haitis water problems.
Figure 4 Solar Still Concept: (The Survivalists Enclave 2015)
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8 Results
8.1
Final Design
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The Solar Distillation is probably the most complicated, and slowest moving process,
right behind rain catching. Solar distillation, like stated earlier in this report is the extraction of
ground water in the earth through the use of the sun's energy. Essentially, just like when a water
bottle is left in the sun, it will begin to form what looks like its own "rainy atmosphere" on the
inside of the bottle. You can see the steam and water droplets on the inside. That is the same
concept that happens with the solar still. When you look in Figure 7, you can see the basics on
how that rainy atmosphere is made. The ground that the pit is made from contains a certain
amount of ground water. Then the tarp on the top is then heated from the suns rays and energy
which makes the environment, seen below in green, on the inside section of this alternative
solution.
Figure 7 Sketch of Atmosphere Representation:
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With these conditions together, it creates the environment on the inside to become heated,
and makes the water that is contained in the ground begin to evaporate, and create a steamy
environment on the inside. This steam is only the pure H20 molecules that were evaporated out of
the ground, meaning that there is no other solid wastes, or other bacteria or diseases that carry
with it, meaning clean drinkable water vapor. This water vapor eventually will evaporate to the
top of the pit, to the tarp. When it reaches here it will begin condensating due to the fact that it is
the closest to the outside, cooler atmosphere. This just why the condensation on the outside of the
water bottle that has been laying in the sun has droplets and other condensation on the sides of
the bottle on the inside. This condensation which collects on the tarp, will then begin to run to the
middle of the tarp due to the fact that it is tilted inward towards the middle, where it will then
precipitate off the tarp and into the collection container. The can all be pictorially in Figure 8.
Figure 8 Sketch of Solar Still:
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The second water collection method that will be utilized in the alternative solution is the
rain collector that is integrated on the top of the still, utilizing the other side of the tarp for
maximum use and usability of the tarp material. Essentially when rain, which is clean and
drinkable H20 for the same evaporation reasons as the solar still, is precipitated onto the tarp, the
water will run down tarp. The tarp is tilted towards the center, like mentioned before, which
allows for water to flow to the middle. In the middle of the tarp is a hole as seen in Figure 9. The
water will run to the middle, through the hole, and fall into the collection container below, adding
to the clean water supply.
Figure 9 Sketch of Integrated Rain Catcher:
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The third clean water creation method is the boiling method. Boiling has been around for
years. However, just boiling water in a pot can lead to residues still in the water. Catching the
water that is evaporated from boiling is the only way to be absolutely sure that the water is
bacteria and solid waste free. This specific sealed boiling method can be seen back in Figure 5.
Essentially evaporated water travels through the tube, where it is then cooled in tube. The tube
would then lead into the collection container in the pit. The representation of this was seen earlier
in Figure 6.
8.1.2
The materials required for this product are very minimal, which was the aim of this
project. Through using less materials, the cost is lower, the project simpler, and the environmental
impact is decreased. The materials that are used in this project are:
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with the other container on hand. This allows use of dishing the water from the container that was
just removed, and having one container on the inside of the pit to collect the water. This allows
for constant extraction of water, again maximizing efficiency.
To clean the tarp, all the takes would need to be removed, and then the tarp would then
just need to be washed off with any sort of anti-bacterial soap that is on hand, in order to remove
any unwanted solids or mold that may build up on it after prolonged use. Then replace the tarp,
and put the metal stakes back in to put the still back in use.
8.1.4 End of Product Life Cycle Plans
This alternative should be made up of very heavy duty and durable materials, however,
when the product may need to be finished with it can be recycled. The best part of all the minimal
materials that are being used in this design all can be reused. The tarp, which will more than
likely be the number reason for the product failing and have the need of recycling, will maybe
have a hole in it that will make it no longer useful. The tarp could then be cut smaller, and then
could be reused for so many other functions such as roofing or other waterproofing needs. The
possibilities are endless. As far as the tubing, it could be used, for example, to draw water from a
lake to some source. The tubing could also be used as rope if need be to tie up a post, fence or
any other object. The pot will more than likely not fail, but if it is, it will more than likely be a
leak, where the pot could then be used as a bucket for dry goods. The metal steaks are selfexplanatory in their uses and reusability. Every single part in the system can be reused and
repurposed, leaving very minimal to no mark on the environment, which is a huge positive.
8.2
The manufacturing that is required for the alternate solution that was presented is not very
intensive. For most of it is plastic, and mostly just man work. Essentially, in order to manufacture
it, it will require large plastic sheeting, as well as a sturdy, preferably metal pot, rubber or plastic
tubing, as well as a metal pot lid.
The plastic sheeting will need to be cut into a circle, and then a circle cut in the center. At
the hole in the center, and then 3 hooks, attached with large area washers into the plastic, facing
downward. This will allow a spot to attach the pot, which will both hold the clean water and serve
as weight to keep the plastic sheet weighed towards the center, keeping the sheet inclined inward
for water to flow and fall into the pot. The fashion that the pit is dug is up to the locals way on
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the ground in Haiti. They can do anything from using powered machinery to hand digging the
entire hole. The pot lid will need to have a hole cut into the top, where the rubber or plastic hose
can be attached and then led into the water collection pot in the center of the pit. Besides all of
this, the plastic sheeting can be attached on the outer edges using metal states. All of these
materials would need to be produced off the ground and here in the states or elsewhere. They
would then need to be shipped in using either boat or plane, to where they could be distributed
across Haiti in lots of remote villages.
This water solution is not too high tech, and was designed so that it could be easily
assembled by the locals on the ground. The manufacturing process is relatively simple, and the
results are well worth the investment in external manufacturing.
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In the end, this data will show how productive the still is, how much it costs in fuel,
emissions, labor and work to run the still, and then weighing the two. Using these experiments,
the still can be tweaked to be as efficient as possible, and possibly becoming an effective
alternative solution for the water-depleted people of Haiti.
Conclusions
This alternative solution design is one that will definitely fill the needs that developing
countries, like Haiti, are struggling with every day. This solution fills all of the specified needs
that were laid out earlier in the project. It is self-sustainable, and takes very minimal education
and effort for it to run, yet results in assured clean drinking water. Its end life can all result in the
reuse of all of the very minimal amount of materials used, and is manufactured easily with very
little impact both environmentally and economically. The only drawback of this design is that it
will not be major solution that will completely solve the water issue across Haiti. Its production
rate is too slow for it to completely remove the need for other water solutions to completely fill
the need. However, this product will definitely take a good weight off of that, leading to a safer,
and healthier Haiti in the years to come.
References
"The Survivalist's Enclave | Water Purification." The Survivalists Enclave. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
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<http://thesurvivalistsenclave.com/water-purification/>.
US EPA, Immediate Office of the Assistant Administrator. Safe and Sustainable Water
Resources Strategic Research Action Plan 2012-2016 (2012): EPA, June 2012. Web. 24
Mar. 2015. <http://epa.gov/research/docs/sswr-strap.pdf>.
"Water and Development Strategy." USAID Water and Development Strategy: U.S. Agency for
International Development. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/
files/documents/1865/USAID_Water_Strategy_3.pdf>.
"Water, Sanitation and Hygiene." UNICEF. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.unicef.org/wash/>.
"Water Stewardship." The Coca-Cola Sustainability Project. The Coca Cola Company, 7 Nov.
2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. <http://www.cocacolacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/
world/water-stewardship.html#section-recycling-wastewater>.
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