Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The Gold Award-winning SONO ilter is a point-of-use method for removing
arsenic from drinking water. A top bucket is illed with locally available coarse
river sand and a composite iron matrix (CIM). The sand ilters coarse particles and
imparts mechanical stability, while the CIM removes inorganic arsenic. The water
then lows into a second bucket where it again ilters through coarse river sand,
then wood charcoal to remove organics, and inally through ine river sand and
wet brick chips to remove ine particles and stabilize water low. The SONO ilter
is now manufactured and used in Bangladesh.
• Arup K. Sengupta, John E. Greenleaf, Lee M. Blaney, Owen E. Boyd, Arun K. Deb,
and the nonproit organization Water for People will share the Grainger Challenge
Silver Award of $200,000 for their community water treatment system.
The system developed by the Silver Award-winning team is applied at a com-
munity's wellhead. Each arsenic removal unit serves about 300 households. Water
is hand-pumped into a ixed-bed column, where it passes through activated alu-
mina or a hybrid anion exchanger to remove the arsenic. After passing through
a chamber of graded gravel to remove particulates, the water is ready to drink.
This system has been used in 160 locations in West Bengal, India. The water treat-
ment units, including the activated alumina sorbent, are being manufactured in
India, and villagers are responsible for their upkeep and day-to-day operation.
The active media are regenerated for reuse, and arsenic-laden sludge is contained
in an environmentally safe manner with minimum leaching.
• The children's safe drinking water program at Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G),
Cincinnati, Ohio, will receive the Grainger Challenge Bronze Award of $100,000
for the PUR™ Puriier of Water coagulation and locculation water treatment
system.
The PUR puriier of water technology that won the Bronze Award combines
chemicals for disinfection, coagulation, and locculation in a sachet that can treat
small batches of water in the home. It is simple, portable, and treats water from
any source. First, the sachet contents are stirred into a 10-liter bucket of water
for 5 min. As the water rests for another 5 min, arsenic and other contaminants
separate out. The water is then poured through a clean cloth to ilter out the con-
taminants. After another 20 min, to complete the disinfection process, the water
is safe to drink. As part of P&G's focal philanthropy program, the Children's Safe
Water Drinking Program has worked with partners to provide 57 million sachets
in more than 30 countries during the past 3 years, enough to purify more than 570
million liters of safe drinking water. Each sachet costs about 15 cents.
9.2.3 Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Arsenic Water Technology
Partnership
9
(http://www.sandia.gov/water/evaluation.htm)
With a $13M Congressional Appropriation under the Department of Energy, SNL, in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, sponsored the Arsenic Water Technology Partnership with
the following focus:
• Conducting research to develop innovative, arsenic removal technologies with
a focus on reducing energy costs, minimizing operating costs, and minimizing
quantities of waste
