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This past summer, I worked with the Foam Filtration Team in order to determine the feasibility of implementing a foam filtration unit into AguaClara's small-scale water treatment plant. .
I worked with four other group members to conduct research on foam filtration. We ran multiple experiments using different parameters (pore per inch count, raw water approach velocity, foam depth, alum coating, etc.) in order to determine the optimal parameters for maximum performance and least effluent turbidity. After realizing that not much work has been completed on studying the effects of foam filtration, we decided also to write a thorough research paper on our findings. Essentially we discovered that foam filtration units are not appropriate for use at a large scale. But rather, sand filtration may work best with AguaClara's water treatment plant. Hence, we have decided to begin focusing our efforts on foam filtration as a point-of-use system. .
Fall 2010 Contributions
I am currently working again on the Foam Filtration Team. This time, we are focusing our efforts on designing a point-of-use foam filtration unit. .
My part consists of designing the middle of the unit, the foam filtration body itself. Given the present design, the filtration unit will consist of a polyvinyl chloride (pvc) pipe with a diameter that varies based on the needed volume of filtered water. The foam will rest at the bottom of the pipe and orifices will be drilled into the bottom to let water exit the filtration unit. These orifices will be designed so that the flow through the filter is constant (meaning that the inlet flow is equivalent to the exit flow). The clean water will then be collected in a bucket located below the filtration apparatus. .
I also created a MathCAD file that allows the user to input values for approach velocity, number of people getting water from the filter, and volume of water consumed by one person per day. With these values, the program calculates the necessary diameter of the filter. The program looks at available diameters for purchase from various online websites and finds the closest diameter available at an equal or greater dimension. Given the user's input of how many orifices he or she would like to drill into the bottom of the filtration unit, the file calculates the diameter of each orifice in order to control flow through the filter. Using this diameter and information of available drill bit sizes for purchase, the file outputs the closest drill bit diameter of equal value available to buy.
After combining my and my teammates designs (inlet + body + outlet), our group hopes to finalize a design for this unit, submit a finanical aid proposal to EPA's P3 competition, and run experiments to determine our unit's effectiveness as a point-of-use system. .