Universal Access to Safe Drinking Water: Escaping the Traps of Non-Frugal Technologies

Huang, Zuhao; Nya, Esther Laurentine; Cao, Viêt; Gwenzi, Willis; Rahman, Mohammad Azizur; Noubactep, Chicgoua

doi:10.3390/su13179645

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(159 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is particularly important given that Fe 0 based remediation systems have wide practical applications. These applications have been discussed in earlier papers (Naseri et al, 2017;Antia, 2020, Huang et al, 2021a, thus, a detailed review is beyond the scope of the present paper. In summary, typical applications of Fe0-based remediation systems documented in literature include: i) decentralized safe drinking water provision in low-income settings (Huang et al, 2021b;Mueller et al, 2021), ii) industrial wastewater treatment systems (Li et al, 2019;Kulkarni et al, 2020), iii) recovery of heavy metals from industrial effluents (Vollprecht et al, 2018;Calabrò et al, 2021;Noubactep, 2021), iv) urban stormwater treatment (Rahman et al, 2013;Tian et al, 2019), v) treatment of drainage water from agroecosystems (Das et al, 2017;Lanet et al, 2021), vi) subsurface permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for remediation of contaminated groundwater (Thakur et al, 2020;Njaramba et al, 2021, Wang et al, 2022, and vii) treatment of domestic wastewater (Wakatsuki et al, 1993;Latrach et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Chemistry Of the Fe0/h2o Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fe 0 has been used in the following applications: i) H 2 production, ii) food packaging, iii) laboratory demonstration (e.g., practicals), iv) drinking water conservation, v) mining activities (e.g., copper cementation), and vi) safe drinking water provision for many decades/centuries (Davis, 1891;Bafghi et al, 2008;Noubactep, 2010a;Noubactep, 2013;Mwakabona et al, 2017;Antia, 2020;Cao et al, 2020;Noubactep, 2020;Rangan et al, 2020;Huang et al, 2021a). This section presents the various uses of the Fe 0 / H 2 O system for water treatment in a historical perspective.…”

Section: Historical Overview Of the Fe 0 Remediation Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Metallic Iron for Environmental Remediation: The Fallacy of the Electron Efficiency Concept

Ndé-Tchoupé

Cao

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Chem.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The suitability of remediation systems using metallic iron (Fe0) has been extensively discussed during the past 3 decades. It has been established that aqueous Fe0 oxidative dissolution is not caused by the presence of any contaminant. Instead, the reductive transformation of contaminants is a consequence of Fe0 oxidation. Yet researchers are still maintaining that electrons from the metal body are involved in the process of contaminant reduction. According to the electron efficiency concept, electrons from Fe0 should be redistributed to: i) contaminants of concern (COCs), ii) natural reducing agents (e.g., H2O, O2), and/or iii) reducible co-contaminants (e.g. NO3-). The electron efficiency is defined as the fraction of electrons from Fe0 oxidation which is utilized for the reductive transformations of COCs. This concept is in frontal contradiction with the view that Fe0 is not directly involved in the process of contaminant reduction. This communication recalls the universality of the concept that reductive processes observed in remediation Fe0/H2O systems are mediated by primary (e.g., FeII, H/H2) and secondary (e.g., Fe3O4, green rusts) products of aqueous iron corrosion. The critical evaluation of the electron efficiency concept suggests that it should be abandoned. Instead, research efforts should be directed towards tackling the real challenges for the design of sustainable Fe0-based water treatment systems based on fundamental mechanisms of iron corrosion.

show abstract

Section: The Chemistry Of the Fe0/h2o Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historical Overview Of the Fe 0 Remediation Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Metallic Iron for Environmental Remediation: The Fallacy of the Electron Efficiency Concept

Ndé-Tchoupé

Cao

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Chem.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is due to a severe lack of investment in water infrastructure and its maintenance. Regarding decentralized infrastructure for water supply, the appropriate choice of available technologies has been reported to be the main problem [6][7][8][9][10]. However, the current paradigm has largely ignored the contribution of local populations in developing, implementing, and operating their own drinking water treatment systems [10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding decentralized infrastructure for water supply, the appropriate choice of available technologies has been reported to be the main problem [6][7][8][9][10]. However, the current paradigm has largely ignored the contribution of local populations in developing, implementing, and operating their own drinking water treatment systems [10][11][12][13]. In the meantime, the science of self-reliance for decentralized water supply has been established, and several affordable technologies which are truly affordable now exist [10,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the current paradigm has largely ignored the contribution of local populations in developing, implementing, and operating their own drinking water treatment systems [10][11][12][13]. In the meantime, the science of self-reliance for decentralized water supply has been established, and several affordable technologies which are truly affordable now exist [10,12]. In turn, this calls for a revisit of the dominant global approaches to clean water supply, and a need for a new model that addresses the high financial burden associated with current approaches [10,[14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Hybrid Model for Achieving Universal Safe Drinking Water in the Medium-Sized City of Bangangté (Cameroon)

Nya

Feumba

Kwetche

et al. 2021

Water

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Providing everyone with safe drinking water is a moral imperative. Yet, sub-Saharan Africa seems unable to achieve “safe drinking water for all” by 2030. This sad situation calls for a closer examination of the water supply options for both rural and urban populations. Commonly, two main aspects are considered: (1) behavioural responses to available or potential water supply options, and (2) socio-economic acceptability. These aspects determine the feasibility and the affordability of bringing safe drinking water as a basic good and human right to everyone. There is a broad consensus that achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 is mostly a financial issue, especially in low-income settings. This communication challenges this view as water is available everywhere and affordable treatment options are well-known. It considers the decentralized water supply model as a reference or standard approach in low-income settings rather than as an alternative. Here, the medium-sized city of Bangangté in the western region of Cameroon is used to demonstrate that universal safe drinking water will soon be possible. In fact, during the colonial period, the residences of the elite and the main institutions, including the administrative quarter, churches, and hospital, have been supplied with clean water from various local sources. All that is needed is to consider everyone as important or accept safe drinking water as human right. First, we present a historical background on water supply in the colonial period up to 1980. Second, the drinking water supply systems and water demand driven by population growth are discussed. Finally, a hybrid model for the achieving of universal access to clean drinking water, and preconditions for its successful implementation, are presented. Overall, this communication calls for a shift from safe drinking water supply approaches dominated by centralized systems, and presents a transferable hybrid model to achieve universal clean drinking water.

show abstract

Gravity‐driven packed bed filter, with copper‐impregnated activated carbon, for continuous water disinfection in absence of electricity

Mukherjee,

Ramachandran,

Bandyopadhyaya

2024

Water Environment Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Availability of safe drinking water is a major concern in many parts of the world. While many filtration units operating on various principles are available to combat this, most require electricity, which may not be consistently available in such areas. In the present study, we have designed and demonstrated a water disinfection system that can operate purely on gravity, without any electricity. For this, a potassium hydroxide modified copper‐impregnated activated carbon (KOH‐Cu‐AC) hybrid was used as a filter medium for disinfection, because it is less expensive, with performance comparable to previously reported hybrids containing silver. To maintain a constant water flow rate under gravity, during disinfection, a Mariotte bottle was used as the reservoir of the contaminated water. Using this and a constant head between the bottle and the treated water exit point, the required water‐filter contact time of 25 min (for decontamination) is maintained in the filter column, regardless of tank‐fill level. The demonstrated lab‐scale system can perform disinfection of simulated contaminated water (with an initial concentration of 104 CFU mL−1 Escherichia coli), for at least 6 h, with a flow rate of 150 mL h−1. The disinfection performance from the gravity‐based filter was further validated with the conventional pump‐driven filter, used for continuous disinfection of drinking water. Equivalence of results between pump‐ and gravity‐driven operations helps us to eliminate the need for power, without any compromise in disinfection efficacy. Finally, copper concentration from treated water (106 ppb at steady state) remains very well within the safe limit (1000 ppb as per USEPA guideline). Hence, the lab‐scale design of gravity‐based packed bed filter will be useful for domestic and community‐based supply of safe drinking water in resource‐constrained areas, because it eliminated electricity requirement of conventional power‐driven systems.Practitioner Points Cost‐effective KOH‐Cu‐AC hybrid is developed as a disinfection material. Mariotte bottle used for maintaining constant disinfected water flow rate works without any electrical power supply. This system can be used for getting on‐spot, continuous disinfected water supply. The concentration of copper in the treated water is well within the safety limit. It can be applicable in rural and remote areas (no electric power source) as well as natural calamity‐affected areas.

show abstract

Universal Access to Safe Drinking Water: Escaping the Traps of Non-Frugal Technologies

Cited by 21 publications

References 89 publications

Metallic Iron for Environmental Remediation: The Fallacy of the Electron Efficiency Concept

Metallic Iron for Environmental Remediation: The Fallacy of the Electron Efficiency Concept

A Hybrid Model for Achieving Universal Safe Drinking Water in the Medium-Sized City of Bangangté (Cameroon)

Gravity‐driven packed bed filter, with copper‐impregnated activated carbon, for continuous water disinfection in absence of electricity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About