H2gO: Portable Water Treatment System

Alexa Leone (Ocean Engineering Major), Isabella Silverman (Ocean Engineering Major),
Ian Hallman (Mechanical Engineering Major)
Advisor: Vinka Oyanedel-Craver, Ph.D.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881 USA

Background Flow Rates and Bacteria Removal

● This project started during the winter semester of 2018 were we assisted in the installation of water
treatment system in an rural elementary school in Cumayasa, Dominican Republic. Pre-test trial and preparation

● During the trip, we made additional visits to two primary schools and connected with local parishes in the Date Assembly Location Flow Rate
LPH (GPH)
city of La Romana. Maria Trinidad and Paula Montas (Caleta), both have about 50 students, between the ages
1/4 5->1->1->GAC->UV Hotel 15 (3.6)
of 4 and 10 years old. The schools have water supply one or two days a week. For drinking water purposes, Olimpo
they purchase bottled water of dubious quality.
1/4 5->1->0.2->GAC->UV Hotel 47.4 (12.6)
● Many water sources in the DR are contaminated with Fecal Coliform and other pathogens because the Olimpo
municipalities do not have proper sewage systems and have poorly maintained infrastructures, such as Figure 4. This Graph is Fecal Coliform Bacteria Colonies of
Other Water Sources. This shows the Fecal Coliform
damaged pipes. averages for the Influent and Effluent water sources from
the trials at varying locations tested before. The E Coli
colonies are per 100 mL.

Project Goal Trials at schools

Date Assembly Location Flow Rate
LPH (GPH)
● H2gO is a portable water treatment system that is designed to be versatile in order to test the water quality
1/7 5->1->1->GAC->UV Maria 20.4 (4.8)
of different locations.
Trinidad
● Its low-cost, modular, and transportable characteristics, making it applicable in many developing
1/7 5->1->0.2-RO->UV Maria 13.8 (1.8)
communities. Trinidad
● The design is meant to adapt to variations between communities (high salinity levels, tubidity, bacteria 1/9 5->1->1->GAC->UV Caleta 32.4 (4.2)
differences) and environmental impacts (potential natural disasters). Figure 5. This graph shows the Fecal Coliform averages
for the influent and effluent trials for the two schools
● Analyze the water samples of the influent and effluent water with different components of filtration and that H2gO was tested at, Maria Trinidad and Caleta. The
Bacteria Summary: E Coli colonies are per 100 mL.
sanitation, to determine a “best fit” for that location.
The fecal coliform graphs display the count of bacteria present
● To be able to produce 200 liters of water a school day. in the influent and effluent water samples.
Flow Rate Summary:
There was zero bacteria present in every effluent sample that
ran through H2gO
Without RO: 4.62 GPH
Constraints
It was discovered that the 5G water jugs of “clean” water the
school was purchasing was contaminated with bacteria. With RO: 1.56 GPH
● In developing countries such as the DR, electricity is not reliable, therefore, H2gO is powered with solar
energy and a portable battery.
● The quality of drinking water at every source can vary (see well data), moreover, climate change directly Solar Panel Data
impacts the quality of water. H2gO’s design makes it capable to treat any water source affected by
At the End of the Test
environmental impacts.
Minimum Voltage (Volts) 12.45
● H2gO is a modular and designed to fit in a suitcase with the dimensions of 24.3’’x16’’x10.10’’, accepted as
check bag by most airlines. Maximum Voltage (Volts) 14.01

Today's Energy Storage (Amp Hours) 1.7

Experimental Design
Figure 6. Shows Energy Storage at the Rural Primary
School of Cumayasa
Transport
Impact
At the End of the Test

Minimum Voltage (Volts) 12.5

Figure 1 shows how H2gO is
carried around when it is not Maximum Voltage (Volts) 13.63
being used. Everything fits in the
suitcase, expect for an effluent Today's Energy Storage (Amp Hours) 2
bucket and battery, which we
relied on community members to
have available. Figure 7. Shows the storage of solar energy storage
taken at a primary school in Cumayasa.

Battery/Load Current:
● The current of energy that the solar panels are receiving
Net Current Into the Battery: from the sun.
● Total amount of amps that is going into the battery from ● The current is affected by the amount of sunlight/rays
the solar panels. the panels receive.
● The more solar panels connected in a series, the more net ● In order to optimize this value, placement of the solar
Figure 1. The entire H2gO system packed current is going into the battery.
Figure 3. Displays community panels is necessary.
compactly in the suitcase. ● When a load is connected, the battery will have a lower
implementation and providing Maria ● Includes the angle at which the solar panels are set and
Trinidad with clean water. current because the battery is supplying a current to the the direction that they are facing (North, South, East,
.2μ
load. West).
● If there is no energy from solar rays entering the battery, ● Factors that can affect this value even with all parameters
the battery will show a negative value indicating that the in check would be the type of weather for the day
battery is draining and not storing any energy

Deploy
Price Overview The Future of H2gO
System Without Reverse Osmosis System With Reverse Osmosis ➔ Planning for a fundraising campaign, in order to improve
Effluent Bucket Influent Bucket the design of the system
(Clean drinking
1μ 1μ 5μ with pump Product Price Product Price ◆ Buy one system in the U.S., donate a system to a
water) G.A.C
community center in the Dominican Republic
UV .
5 Micron Filter $2.35 5 Micron Filter $2.35
➔ To maintain communication with the collaborators in La
1 Micron Filter (2) $7.90 1 Micron Filter $3.95 Romana
.2 μ ➔ Increase awareness on the URI campus, about the
GAC $5.99 0.2 Micron Filter $39.68 importance of access to clean drinking water
Legend ➔ Survey communities in the United States that are in natural
UV: Ultraviolet light UV Light $77.00 Booster Pump $89.99
disaster prone areas
Replacement: every 12 months
Pump $7.99 ◆ Could H2gO be used in emergency situations?
Pump $7.99
GAC: Granular Activated Carbon
Replacement: every 6 months GAC $5.99
Filter Housing ( 4 Pack) $48.76
UV Light $77.00 Acknowledgements
µ: Micron, varying sized micron Threaded Connectors (8) $13.19
filters Metal Threads (8) $13.19 We are thankful for the sponsors and mentors that assisted the project.
500 watt Replacement: every 6 months,
Effluent Bucket
(waste from the inverter depending on water quality Elbows (2) $1.18 Elbows (2) $1.18 ● Office of Undergraduate Research and Innovation
12 volt, 65
RO membrane) ● Office of Diversity, Community, and Equity
amp hour Tubing (25 ft) $15.00 Tubing (25 ft) $15.00 ● URI College of Engineering
battery
● Woodard & Curran Inc.
Total $179.36 Filter Housing (4 Pack) $48.76 ● Water for the World Environmental Engineering Lab,
Solar Converter University of Rhode Island
20 Watt each Reverse Osmosis $33.99
Solar Panels
Total $339.07
● The schools buy water in 5 gallon jugs every week because neither schools have
Figure 2. The complete in-country set up of the H2gO running water
design, set up from right to left. ○ It costs the Maria Trinidad School $1,152 USD per year for their drinking
water