AguaClara Filtration Team
Abstract
The challenge for the Aguaclara Filtration Team is to design a filtration system that can reliably treat the current Aguaclara effluent water with a turbidity ranging from 5 to 10 NTU and produce water with a turbidity less than 1 NTU. The filtration technology should not require any electricity, should make minimal use of specialized components that would be difficult to acquire in remote communities, and should be easy to construct and to maintain.
Methods
The Filtration Team will conduct research on existing foam/bag filtration and granular filtration technology, develop an initial filtration design, conduct experiments to validate design, and produce a final design based on experimental results. The Filtration Team has currently conducted research on three possible options: Sipon-Aided backwash, backwash clear well, and foam filtration.
Siphon-Aided Backwash
Foam Filtration
Clear Well Backwash Filtration System
The Clear Well Team's focus is to determine if a gravity driven clear well filter design is feasible technically and economically. A clear well is one of the few options that allows a filter to be cleaned without using electricity. The clear well cleans the filter by backwashing the filter with water stored at a higher elevation than the filter bed.