Plumber ​Develops Low-Cost Filter for ​Developing ​Countries

Patty and Andy Pierce developed an affordable water filtration system that could potentially change many lives in developing countries, for which  they became finalists in a National Geographic competition that seeks out inspirational ideas to change the world.

A former plumber, Andy applied his knowledge with expensive large-scale filtration systems to make them more accessible to those in need.

Image source: Record Searchlight Video

"It basically takes all that technology of those large systems we were installing and then shrunk it down to a very small portable and cost effective device," said Pierce.

Andy said he came up with the idea while rebuilding an orphanage after the Haiti earthquake.

"I developed a water pump that I thought was just a one-off for the orphanage, and it turned out to be a very appropriate technology for millions of people in the developing world that are subsistence farmers," Pierce said.

The filters are made of hollow fiber membranes that Pierce said should last a long time without being replaced. Unlike household water filters, they self-clean.

"That's really what I developed, was just a manifold system that utilizes six of the filters, and when it's running, the water flows through all six and out the spout and you can have dirty river, lake water come in, flows through the filters and out the spout," said Pierce.

Source: KRCR News

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Taxonomy

• Treatment
• Treatment Methods
• Purification
• Filtration
• Filters
• Filtration Solutions
• Water Purification