English 202C
Penn State Abington
1600 Woodland Rd
Abington, Pa 19001
To The Industrial Projects and Services Department,
Safe drinking water is a huge and important necessity for human life. The fact that so many
people in different countries do not have secure access to it is a large concern. This is not just
a humanitarian concern but also one that many companies around the world are investing in.
Being able to do good work in these communities is often profitable for the companies that are
out there making a difference for these people. Companies dealing with this problem do not
have to make a decision between the greater good and their own bottom line
This topic of water purification is one we have given a good deal of thought to. We are
proposing a system which can address a wide array of the concerns that face the people in
certain regions without access to clean water. A system that could adjust to meet these
different needs would be easy to implement across the world. A more widely used system like
this would do the most good while also keeping demand high for the company producing them.
The facts are clear on why this is such a large issue worldwide. Some people do not have
access to water and some struggle with the impurities in their existing water sources. Either of
these problems, contributes significantly to the death tolls of their respective countries.
Contributing any way we can to this alone is worth the effort that would go into producing a
system such as ours.
Our system would deal with these two problems mainly. First we would have to solve the
problem of storing and transporting the water. You will see how we approach this later with
different tank sizes and portability options.
Next we have to deal with the pollution in the water to make sure we have a well-rounded
system. We look at how allowing the communities to customize the filter they choose will allow
people to make a system which functions exactly as they need it to.
With your help we have the potential to positively affect lives without making sacrifices that
might normally scare other companies away. We look forward to hearing your input and get
started on some truly meaningful work.
Sincerely,
Hope for Pure Water
Hope for Pure Water 1
Hope for Pure Water
Joe Monkoski
Kalyn McKeon
Armela Sauli
Sabbir Odudh
Penn State University, Abington Campus
English 202C Formal Report
June 24th 2015
Hope for Pure Water 2
Abstract
Water impurity is a problem that can affect the population very differently depending on what
part of the world you focus on. This paper looks at the parts of the world where these problems
can be quite deadly. Looking at the range of diseases and problems encountered when polluted
water is the best available option. There is a general solution provided which combines some of
the more effective solutions that have already been tested in the areas where they are needed
most. Whether it is simple solutions for use in areas with limited resources or advanced
material design looking at the highest degree of water purification. The combination of new
ideas with the older proven ones would create an adaptable and effective system for use in
many different regions. Lastly the business side is analyzed as it looks at the companies who
are moving forward with these technologies. They are researching new ways to easily purify
water and even develop some of these systems in the areas that need them most.
Hope for Pure Water 3
Table of Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
Cover Letter
Title Page
Abstract
Introduction
Statistics
Solutions
Benefits to Companies and Investors
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Pages: 5-6
Pages: 7-9
Pages: 10-12
Pages: 13-15
Hope for Pure Water 4
Armela Sauli
24 June, 2015
Introduction Paper
Water is essential for life. No living being can go without water in earth. However, they’re still
third world countries who don't have the essential of safe drinking water. Early humans believed
that purified water depended on the taste, if water had a pleasing taste it was pure so what they
did was they added herbs and flowers but this was not a true method of purification. Many
decades later it was found that the way to really purify water was to either boil it and after boiling
it they used a cloth bag to strain the water. Following these discoveries, sand filters and
rainwater cisterns were developed. Because of that now a municipal water treatment plants are
installed.
Every year children die of disease associated with poor water sources. Some might not even
have resources to get clean water. Here are some improved drinking water sources and
unimproved drinking water sources. Improved drinking water sources are piped household
water connection, public standpipe, borehole, protected dug well, protected spring, rainwater
collection. Unimproved drinking water sources are unprotected dug well, unprotected spring,
surface water, vendor-provided water, bottled water, tanker truck water. If you have any of these
unimproved drinking water sources near where you live then don’t drink the water unless you
filter it. Be careful because their might be different disease in the water which can lead to death.
There are different methods of purifying water but some may not be that effective in killing the
bacteria. For example you could boil the water. If the boiling point is reached, boiling is effective
in killing bacteria, viruses, protozoa,helminths and most pathogens from drinking water.
Incomplete inactivation of pathogens in boiled water is attributed to users not heating the water
to the boiling point and/or recontamination of boiled water in storage. Boiling does not remove
turbidity, chemicals (e.g. arsenic), taste, smell or color from water. Therefore, settling or even
filtration (by cloth or slow sand or biosand filter) is often needed prior to boiling.
There maybe some advantages and disadvantages to boiling water. Some advantages are that
it effectively kills most pathogens. Easy, simple and widely accepted method of disinfection
(particularly in tea-consuming cultures. Biogas cooking stoves can be used for the cooking
stove. The disadvantages are that it can be costly due to fuel consumptions, use of traditional
fuel (firewood, kerosene/gas) contributes to deforestation and indoor air pollution, potential user
taste objections,risk of injuries, does not remove turbidity, chemicals, taste, smell, colour, time
consuming, and water needs to cool down before use unless for hot drinks.
In conclusion, water challenges are extremely high in third world countries and they need to be
purified. It seems there are more than few reasons to put water and sanitation at the top of the
world's agenda, because no one should die from unpurified water.
Hope for Pure Water 5
Reference Page
1) Boiling. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2015, from
http://www.sswm.info/category/implementation-tools/water-purification/hardware/pointuse-water-treatment/boiling
2) ENPHO (Editor) (2007): Amoeba and Water. Kathmandu and New York: Environment and Public
Health Organization (ENPHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Hope for Pure Water 6
Kalyn McKeon
24 June 2015
Statistics of Contaminated Water
Countries and communities with lack of sanitation and poor resources have a high amounts of
unsafe water sources, many of these include third world countries. According to Cooper (2003),
“40% of Earth’s inhabitants-nearly three billion people-have no sanitation services, often forcing
them to sully the little fresh water they have”.Although the world in majority covered in water,
much of the water is unusable for drinking water because it is either contaminated or salt water.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also known as the CDC (2009) found that,
“Worldwide, millions of people are infected with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), many of
which are water and/or hygiene related”. With NTDs being found in countries and communities
with compromised water sources, those communities need help to get access to water
purification solutions and tools, thus minimizing and eventually eliminating the water borne
diseases. In order to help to process and narrow the statistics about water contamination and
the effects it has on the communities that need clean water the statistics have been categorized
into common contaminants, water related diseases and key facts.
Worldwide, there are many water borne diseases caused from a variety of contaminants, which
can lead to serious illnesses, infections and in some cases death. The CDC (2009) reported
that, “Waterborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microbes that can directly spread through
contaminated water.” Pathogenic microbes are defined as a microorganisms that have the
potential to cause disease and can enter the body through the following four sites: respiratory
tract (mouth and nose), gastrointestinal tract (mouth oral cavity), urogenital tract, and breaks in
the skin surface, as stated by Microbiology Online. Along with pathogenic microbes other
contaminants include but are not limited to faeces and insects who have bred in the water
(WHO, 2014). These contaminants are only a few of the many which can tarnish the water
source and transmit a waterborne diseases.
Nearly any water source, across the world, has a chance of transmitting a waterborne illness,
the chance increases dramatically with unpurified water in third world communities. Some of the
most common diseases include but are not limited to: guinea-worm disease (GWD), trachoma,
buruli ulcer, schistosomiasis and fascioliasis (CDC, 2009). “Guinea-worm disease is an
extremely parasitic infection [which is] spread through contaminated drinking water...Trachoma
is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness and results from poor hygiene and
sanitation” (CDC, 2013). Waterborne disease are not only found in third world countries but
worldwide. In addition to the five common waterborne illness, contaminated water can also be
linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera and diarrhea (WHO, 2014). The World
Health Organization, WHO, has stated, “Diarrhea is the most widely known disease linked to
Hope for Pure Water 7
water” (2014). Diseases that can be lurking in a water source can lead to extreme illness and
possibly even death when the source is left unpurified.
The following key facts give a better understanding of the statistics involved with unpurified
water. Contaminated drinking water can put one’s life in imminent danger, “Waterborne
diseases cause diarrheal illnesses...these cases result in 1.5 million deaths each
year”(CDC,2009). According to the CDC (2013), “Unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability
of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% deaths
from diarrheal diseases.” To put that into perspective about 2,200 of children affected with the
diarrheal diseases are dying.“748 million people rely on unimproved sources, including 173
million who depend on surface water” (WHO, 2014). Unpurified water is a serious cause to the
health and death rates of the people who inhabit these underdeveloped communities.
Nearly eight hundred million of the seven point six billion Earth inhabitants have harmful water
source. “By 2050, half of the world’s population will be living in water stressed areas” stated by
the World Health Organization (WHO, 2014), “Water stressed area is classified as a country [or
area] that lack the necessary infrastructure to take [clean] water from the rivers and aquifers”.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated, “More people die each
year from unsafe water than from any form of violence” (2014). The underdeveloped
communities need help to get water purification systems, in order to save lives.
Hope for Pure Water 8
References Page
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Global WASH Fast Facts. (2013, November 8). Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/ wash_dieases.html
Global WASH-Related Diseases and Contaminants. (2009, July 9). Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/
healthywater/wash_diseases.html
CQ Researcher: Water Shortages
Cooper, M. H. (2003, August 1). Water shortages. CQ Researcher, 13, 649-672.
Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/
Society for Microbiology
Microbiology Online. Microbes and disease. Society for Microbiology. Retrieved
from http:www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/about-microbiology/microbes-and
-the-human-body/microbes-and-disease
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Water Quality. (2014, October 23).United Nations Department of Economic
and Social Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/
quality.shtml
World Health Organization
Water. (2014, July). World Health Organization.Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs391/en/
Hope for Pure Water 9
Joe Monkoski
24 June 2015
The effects of water pollution are felt in many different ways but each situation is unique to the
affected area. Some people face water shortages that can prevent them from practicing safe
hygiene while some do not have access to water they can use to cook or even drink. To add to
the complexity of the problem, these water sources range from untreated sewage reservoirs in
urban areas to remote and untested water out in the wild. In 2014, Dr. Wu found that the
different bacteria in a variety of water sources ranges greatly and can be equally problematic.
(p. 1953). Many developed nations handle this through well use or public water treatment
systems. Unfortunately these solutions are too far from a reality for some less developed areas.
The need for effective filtration systems is increasing as projections have “50% of [the] global
population facing water scarcity by 2030” (Fane, Wang, & Hu, 2015, p. 3370).
The problem needs to be dealt with now as water is so essential it is considered by some to be
a basic human right. While this is far from what is in practice, any steps that can possibly be
taken to address even a small part of this problem is worthwhile. The only way to address a
wide amount of these situations is to have an adaptable system that can be customized to work
most efficiently in the community where it is being implemented. Some solutions choose to
focus on a small aspect of why these problems might exist in a given region. This is where
combining some of these solutions in an efficient way can start to make a larger difference.
Humanitarian groups account for a large portion of the effort put into this issue but they can only
help as much as the resources in that area allow them too. This is more so of a problem for the
people who live in this area permanently. What we would implement would be a system which
allows the consumer to choose what forms of filtration they would include depending on their
specific needs because of pollution.
The first problem that most people can think of is any impurities that are present in the water.
There are a few ways to address these concerns but one most people should be familiar with
will be filters. Technology is quickly advancing when it comes to filters but the people who need
them most are not the ones with access to them. This is one area where less really is more as
impossibly thin, manufactured membranes are not a realistic solution for water pollution where
is does the most damage like in third world countries. Those with access to rivers or reservoirs
close by would choose a system, which specializes in runoff filtration, and filters, which can
handle a high volume of water input. Have an interchangeable filter in the system has more
benefits than allowing people to clean their filters. If there is access to natural, cheap filtering
materials, then an empty filter could be opted for. Dr. Wu’s research shows that sand has been
proven “effective at filtering water to a drinkable level when changed regularly enough” (p.
1953). In these cases the best and most realistic option may be using an abundant and
farmable material like this to do the cleaning of the water. Some people are luckier and have
access to even better natural cleaning materials like the seeds of the Moringa plant.
If the system would need to transport water far distances to travel could opt for a system that
conserves energy used in transportation and filters naturally occurring water pollution. If they
Hope for Pure Water 10
are travelling these lengths to get the water, the hope is that it’s clean but not necessarily to the
degree they are hoping to use it for. Companies like the one that produce the hippo roller
addressed a very real issue with water transportation and storage for communities that have to
make trip of multiple miles to reach their water source. Systems like the hippo roller have
already addressed the problem of water transportation which we are hoping to expand to a
whole filtration system. (Goodier, 2015). Adding a filter to the rolling system allows the
movement of the water in travel to be used to run the water through the filter, which would be in
our system. Here is where the inclusion of multiple ideas can lead to a far superior water
system.
Many people have trouble storing water. The amounts needed for daily life are pretty significant
and in the same vein may be hard to transport. The rolling design would address the
transportation and even allow larger tank systems. Once the water is where it is supposed to
be, the filtration system can now act as the new storage tank. Having the water in a filtration
system would be better than having questionable water that just travelled sitting around waiting
to be used.
This would also scale economically as places with less funding could choose just the parts that
would be a necessity for their water purification system. Using simple porous concrete filters in a
river has been shown to reduce carbon impurities anywhere from 60 to 80 percent. (Zhang,
Kanemaru, & Nakazawa, 2015, p. 163). Higher cost options would be available like newly
developed membranes. These are quickly becoming far more efficient in rejecting inorganic
and organic contaminants. (Liu, Wang, & Zhang, 2014, p. 252).
Ideally every community no matter where they are in the world would have a public water
treatment option or reliable access to clean wells. This is not the case but our solution could
provide what should be a temporary solution to what these people ultimately need. Being able
to accomplish this will be helpful for the people using and making it and that is the true aim of
these humanitarian projects.
References
Hope for Pure Water 11
Fane, A., Wang, R., & Hu, M. (2015). Synthetic membranes for water purification: status and
future. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 54(11), 3368-3386.
doi:10.1002/anie.201409783
Goodier, R. (2015, June 2). Ten human-powered machines that improve lives worldwide
[Web log post]. Retrieved from
https://www.engineeringforchange.org/news/2015/06/02/ten_human_powered_machines_th
at_improve_lives_worldwide.html
Liu, H., Wang, H., & Zhang, X. (2014). Facile fabrication of freestanding ultrathin reduced
Graphene Oxide membranes for water purification. Advanced Materials, 27(2), 249-254.
doi:10.1002/adma.201404054
Wu, H., Zhang, J., Mi, Z., Xie, S., Chen, C., & Zhang, X. (2014). Biofilm bacterial
communities in urban drinking water distribution systems transporting waters with different
purification strategies. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 99(4), 1947-1955.
doi:10.1007/s00253-014-6095-7
Zhang, R., Kanemaru, K., & Nakazawa, T. (2015). Purification of river water quality using
precast porous concrete products. Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, 13(3), 163-168.
doi:10.3151/jact.13.163
Hope for Pure Water 12
Sabbir Odudh
24 June 2015
Benefits for Companies and Investors
Water is the single most useful and postulate natural resource we have. Evaporation from
oceans and lakes take place then condensation forms clouds, refilling oceans and lakes with
rain. There are many forms that water comes in, starting from your kitchen sink tap water to the
bottled water in your fridge. Water is so vital to our survival.
The water industry is slowly getting very profitable. Huge companies make billions of dollars on
water because they simply extract it from the ground, slap a label on it and sell it for substantial
profit. Just about all of the major drink companies like Coke, Pepsi, Nestle, Starbucks and even
Anheuser-Busch have large investments in the drinking water business. Companies are
expanding to Europe to grow the business more and trying to find ways to make the purified
water efficient.
Purified water prevents and cures high blood pressure. Certain types of hypertension are major
indicators of dehydration in the human body. Water and some salt will bring blood pressure
back to normal. Tap water is disinfected with chlorine in most locations within the US. Chlorine
often causes taste issues which many people do not like. Making purified water more appealing
to companies and their customers.
Purified water also helps their companies by providing a supply for the demand. The
International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the bottled water industry have helped
many countries while in need. An example would be the Haiti earthquake that happened in
2010. The IBWA and the bottled water industry have produced, coordinated and distributed
critical bottled water supplies through relief agencies and organizations such as ‘Clean the
World’, ‘Convoy of Hope,’ ‘American Red Cross’ and ‘AmeriCares’ and other state and local
charities throughout the world. They also help by computing devices and factories that provide
the synergic strength to design state-of-the-art plants in the shortest possible time to meet any
Customer`s demand.
“Dais Analytic Corporation provides industry-changing, nanotechnology-based applications for
heating & cooling, water treatment, and energy storage. These applications are reshaping
traditional notions of energy efficiency, economics, and eco-friendly products by both reducing
environmental impact use while lowering costs”. Prozone Water is a company that
manufacturers ozone generators for air and water purification systems for residential,
commercial and industrial use. Prozone is a world leader in ozone generator manufacturing and
ozone applications engineering. Ozone Generators, Ozone Purifiers, Cleaner Air and Water,
Ozonators, Chlorine reduction, Algaecide reduction, Air Purification, Mold Control, Corona
Discharge Systems, Water Purification, Wastewater Treatment and Spa Ozonators.
Hope for Pure Water 13
Purifying water companies just do not purify water and sell it. Many companies expand their
research and goals to better our environment. Doing well in this industry makes it good for the
company and us because it can change our government. Helping by something such as stocks
growing or even doing business with others to improve the product. Globally, the industry
generates about $450 billion in annual revenue. So I would say the purified water helps the
companies tremendously.
Hope for Pure Water 14
Reference
http://www.environmental-expert.com/companies/dais-analytic-corporation-44301
Hope for Pure Water 15