Low-cost water filter developed by a group of students from
IIT-Jodhpur for the rural populace
It took an apple falling on the head of Sir Issac Newton for
that ‘aha moment’. All it took a group of students from the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT)-Jodhpur to come up with gravity as the answer to clean
drinking water needs was a visit to Arna-Jharna, an open desert museum
displaying traditional knowledge systems of local communities on the outskirts
of the city in 2013.
The mechanical engineering students were inspired to work on a
cheap but efficient water filter during an interaction with Kuldeep Kothari of
Jodhpur-based Rupayan Sansthan, which functions as an institute of folklore and
runs the museum. IIT-Jodhpur Assistant Professor Anand Plappally encouraged
them to come up with a solution.
‘G-Filter’
Amrita Kaurwar, Sandeep Gupta, Raj K. Satankar and Devaiah
Soyam, and traditional potters worked together in 2013 to develop a ‘G-Filter’
that provides clean drinking water in poor village households at very low
costs.
The first prototype was developed in December 2016 and displayed
at the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan pavilion of the India International Science
Festival in New Delhi in December 2016.
20-litre capacity
The 20-litre filter receptacle looks like a flowerpot and has
micro-nano pores through which water percolates due to gravity.
An average of eight litres of water percolates in 10 hours when
the receptacle is running at full capacity. During the manufacturing process,
sawdust and marble powder are added to the clay to improve the filter’s
anti-bacterial properties. It also provides structural strength to the
receptacle, which is kept on a water dispensing container made of steel or
plastic.
Sold by potters
The filters, being sold by potters in Jodhpur district at prices
ranging between Rs. 300 and Rs. 350 each, have gained acceptance in rural areas
of western Rajasthan.
The students said the reverse osmosis-based, energy-intensive
and expensive equipment that has entered urban homes isn't suitable for rural
families with limited financial resources. Cost-effective solutions like the
filter developed by them, which is based on indigenous knowledge, could
effectively meet the needs of villages.
The students designed a machine in their laboratory for
manufacturing these filters and three machines have been installed in homes of
potter families in Sar, Banad and Salawas villages.
Workshops for potters
The Sansthan also organised a series of workshops for potters to
enable them manufacture filters with salt-added clay.
Mr. Kothari said the Sansthan was disseminating the technology
to individual potters as part of its drive to preserve traditional skills of
villagers and promote natural engineered products.
Abdul Razak, a potter at Banad village in Jodhpur, said: “I
learnt a lot from the workshops organised by the Sansthan. Though we have indigenous
knowledge of the filtration properties of sand, I learnt about the right mix of
sawdust and marble powder for preparing the clay from the students. Each water
filter weighs about 5-kg. It’s very useful and should be kept in every
household.”
To clean impurities
Dr. Plappally told The
Hindu that the filter’s capacity
to clean impurities of bacteria, mostly E. Coli, metal contamination and
chemical impurities has been certified by the Union government’s National Test
House.
Besides protection against water-borne diseases, which according
to the World Health Organization comprise 65% of ailments, the filter helps
maintain robust health and nutritional status of the rural populace, said Dr.
Plappally, a post-doctoral fellow with the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) before joining IIT-Jodhpur in 2012.
“We have applied for patent of the process for manufacturing,
rather than the filter itself, to facilitate its supply to areas not getting
power and water supply,” he added.
IIT-Jodhpur has also provided the filter’s know-how to the
Integrated Rural Technology Centre, Palakkad, and Enactus IIT-Madras, which is
a group of IIT alumni in Chennai.
Source: THE HINDU-22nd May,2017
