B9 Plastics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to social and environmental improvement through the use of plastics. The BMW (Better Water Maker) is a device that uses a hand-crank powered UV lighting system to disinfect the water by disrupting the DNA of microorganisms and RNA of viruses, which makes them unable to reproduce. This device helps provide clean and safe drinking water for third world countries where clean drinking water is otherwise not available.

Our project builds on the BWM project. The BWM can only be used effectively if the water has relatively low turbidity, meaning that its particle free and does not contain any UV absorbing compounds. The UV light however does not remove chemical contaminants from the water; specifically fluoride which is a main concern in many developing countries. The high fluoride content leads to fluorosis, a bone deficiency.

The main goal of the project is to remove particles (5 microns or greater) and fluoride from the water to make it drinkable. There are currently products that remove particles and fluoride but are relatively expensive, and do not have the desired lifespan that we want the device to have, this provides us many challenges. The biggest constraint is the minimization of the production costs, along with minimizing the maintenance of the device. Another large challenge is the life span. This is difficult with a filter in which the ideal design contains no consumable parts.

Project Name

Particle and Fluoride Pre-Filter for B9 Plastics

Project Number

P13418

Start Term

2012-1

End Term

2012-3

Faculty Guide

Sarah Brownell, sabeie@rit.edu

Primary Customer

B9 Plastics

369 Route 104

Ontario, NY 14519

(585)265-6690

info@b9plastics.org

Sponsor (financial support)

name(s), contact

Team Ethics & Norms

Photo Gallery

Brainstorming

Planning & Execution

Systems Design

Detailed Design

Project Review

References

Photo Gallery

Planning & Execution

Build, Test, Document

Project Review

Final Presentation

Technical Paper

Poster