This is the presentation of the webinar of this past Monday, the 22nd on New Developments in Candle Water Filters and and Installation of Rocket Stoves.


docs.google.com/presentation/d/1F3Q2w3jW...9&rtpof=true&sd=true

Greetings.  You may or may not have had a chance to read the article of this link:   tamceramics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/...ature_01-02-2019.pdf  
More recent drawings of prospective filter systems of the granulated ceramics are shown here:   drive.google.com/file/d/1hxQ88QgAL8TEhPS...nYc/view?usp=sharing
It sounds to me as if you could treat the water of the poly plastic tanks, using the four liter filter shown in this drawing.   connecting this to that tank one should get a constant flow of safe drinking water of over 1.5 liters per minute.  In case you continue to be interested please email me, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Incidentally, ever since my family lived in Bangladesh, in Gulshan 2, I have wondered why it is that Bangladeshis do not drink treated water from the Brahmaputra.  I have understood that many are concerned about feces contamination in the water, but still, would this not be preferable to arsenic contaminated ground water?  Assuming that the only contamination in the Brahmaputra is that of the pathogens, wouldn't the only other problem be that of the turbidity?  If I am correct in these assumptions, all that might be needed would be the large-scale, point-of-use water filters of granulated ceramics, preceded by such removal of the particles of turbidity as that of slanted plate clarifiers.

I am from Bangladesh. Here in coastal areas the drinking water source is Rainwater hervesting. The people store water for 4 to 5 months in Poly plastic tank which becomes contiminated after few days. Is the filter media usable for RWH system? If then what is procedure?

Hello Chaiwe,

Yes, such filters have been have been sold to peri urban households in Ifakara and other regions in Tanzania. The efficiency of the filters with regards to bacteria removal and flow rates was tested by WHO with positive results (99% removal). The demand has been so high from communities especially during rainy seasons as most of reliable rural water sources are not safe during these periods. 
The marketing team decided to also include a water quality test kit (hydrogen sulfide (H2S)) which is also locally manufactured by MSABI to enable households test their water quality. So the a filter unit is sold with a test kit as one package. 

Regards,  

Just to clarify further:
Those producing filter pots would get far greater efficacy at the pathogen reduction, were they to fire their filters a second time, at the low temperature of 550C. This would be to burn off the dispercent of the concentrated colloidal silver while bonding the silver to the ceramic. This would also prevent the need for chlorine.

Silver leaching is a problem with filter pots because the second firing isn't done. But my understanding is that filter lifetime is generally no more than a couple of years, due to breakage during handling. Consequently appreciable leaching doesn't happen.

Filter producers might collect the broken pieces and granulate these, for a filter system of granulated ceramics. If properly manufactured these filters will give a 10 year lifetime at the log reduction purchased, with another 10 years at the next log reduction down. A further real feature of the granulated media systems is that these will be large-scale, point-of-use, for community-sized filters, safe drinking water easy walking distance from homes.

The systems will be everything for sustainability envisioned from the outset of the WHO Household Water Network: affordable to the poor, user-friendly and easy to maintain.

Hi Chaiwe,

Please allow a correction and a brief explanation of the different kinds of ceramic filters.  The headline of this post, *Low cost water filtration systems, Sub- Saharan Africa,* does not correspond with its text, and rather, the filter of the headline is described in the article of the first link following.  It is pot filters that are shown in this SuSanA post, and these are quite different.  Making this even more complicated (smile), the ceramic filters described in the post, that can be made locally are those referred to in the second link following, i.e., candle filters.
 
HERE ARE THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CERAMIC FILTERS
 
A.  Monolithic filters.  I.e., filters of one piece.  These include the pot filters as well as such filters as candle filters and disc filters.  It is the candle filters that can be formed locally, with the help someone knowledgeable in chemistry who can do silver treatment.  Note that chlorine is not involved.  Candle filters are described via the second link following.
 
B. Granulated ceramic filters are those described in the article of the first link following (and in the first post in this thread).  These can be household sized, and once they are implemented it should become clear
that a particular feature of these is that a point-of-use water filters of any
size can be fabricated. 
 
1) Filtering safe drinking water through granulated ceramics:  tamceramics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/...ature_01-02-2019.pdf
2) For the Poor, By the Poor, Safe Drinking Water and Clean Cookstoves:  drive.google.com/file/d/1CmLPCq6y2uzi16I...6Xk/view?usp=sharing
 
Anyone interested in ceramic filters should please inquire for details to Reid Harvey, ceramic
designer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear  Blevira,

Great initiative! I love that this is as low cost as it is. Needless to mention, with the right skills development opportunities, communities can easily make these at home. Has there been any initiatives to scale this up to individual household level?

The only real bottle neck I see is the chlorine aspect. Definitely a challenge for rural communities that cannot afford or access chlorine. Has there been anymore work done to see how best this simple technology can further be improved to get to a point where chlorine is no longer needed? layered filtration system?

Here is a screenshot of the filters in action from the video/ article link you shared.


Regards,
Chaiwe

Dear  Reid Harvey ,

I also agree with you on sustainability, effectiveness, affordability and user friendly of these clay water filter ports regardless of the design approach in serving the poor. See also "Tembo filter ports" where a local NGO in rural Morogoro, Tanzania MSABI together with a local women cooperative, developed a locally produced and highly efficient ceramic water filter. The filters have been branded TEMBO filters (from the Swahili name Elephant). The filter is the result of a research and development effort, involving production of several hundred prototypes, collaboration with the international NGO Potters for Peace and testing of microbiological filter efficiency in the laboratory of the Ifakara Health Institute.

The filters have an average 99.8% efficiency in removing E.Coli and other bacteria from contaminated water. The product has the capacity to produce an average of 50 liters of clean drinking water per day, sufficient for supplying an entire family with safe drinking water. 

www.grandchallenges.ca/grantee-stars/0554-01-10/  

Cheers!

 

INTERVENTION BY THE POOR, FOR THE POOR.  To appearances, for those of low-income the right to WASH will only be achieved when they are the ones doing production and implementation of the interventions.  It is widely acknowledged that WASH interventions are not affordable to the poor, yet the necessary resources tend to be all around them!  What is primarily needed is capacity building, making use of abundant natural resources along with those involved in products of traditional production techniques.  In all case these interventions are highly sustainable, as effective, affordable to the poor and user friendly, with easy maintenance.

See the presentation and article of the two links following.  1)  For those who produce such simple clay products as water containers, cookpots and construction brick their capacity building will start with techniques of mass production.  drive.google.com/file/d/1vV19ojCQPXZOt_A...7TG/view?usp=sharing

2)  There is an opportunity for WHO assessment leading to verification of large-scale, point-of-use water treatment.  The following article describes water filter media and systems of granulated ceramics, coated with a small amount of silver.  This will make possible water filter systems of any size, determined by the size of the community.  I.e., leaving no one behind.
tamceramics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/...ature_01-02-2019.pdf  

3)  Additionally, listen to this Toilet Talk, on local production of sanitaryware toilets and ecological public toilets (for a project 2nd phase).  There is no reason why the production of sanitaryware toilets could not be possible on a widespread basis: drive.google.com/file/d/1tzXCAsFdqOg2V4l...ZSf/view?usp=sharing