Category Archives: Blog

How are Water Filters Grassroots Peace?

A few weeks ago an interesting thing happened that exemplifies how sharing of technology can connect people. Nate Halverson designed an experiment on how to heat treat the silver used in the ceramic, and took the data on a machine at Alfred Univeristy used to measure chemical reactions, called a TGA–DTA. By that evening on the same day, a new procedure for water filter production was implemented in Indonesia. Here’s how it happened:

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11:00 AM, Alfred NY. Nate Halverson completes an experiment on how to best apply silver to the filter.

4:00 PM, Alfred NY Nate sends the data to Nick Rozard

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7:30 PM, Alfred NY and Yogyakarta Indonesia During a Skype meeting, with Rina Wijaya in Yogyakarta Indonesia, Nick sends the data and a recommendation on how to run the kiln.

20 minutes of discussion later, Yogyakarta Indonesia Rina has implemented a new firing procedure for the kiln.

 

The world is more peaceful with right sharing of technology. Rina will make great use of this information for the processing of the filters. The information allows her to make use of her local materials to provide drinking water for her community. When technology is shared between people, lasting bonds are created. Bonds that transcend violence and even war.

 

If you would also like the technical information discussed here, including the chart and recommended firing schedules, see the resource section of our webpage.

Water Filter Accomplishments

17 March 2013

The last water filter update introduced people involved in the work, Today we have accomplishments from the last 9 months since Nick Rozard has been home from Indonesia:

Accomplishments in Alfred, New York, USA:

  • Completed Senior Thesis with Alfred University student, Nate Halverson.
  • Nick completed an experiment set on residence time. Residence time is the amount of time that water in the filter contacts the catalyst responsible for deactivating bacteria. This study gives us a deeper understanding about how to precisely control how much time the water contacts the catalyst. The catalyst coats the surface of the pores in the filter.
  • Compared residence time vs ability to kill bacteria.
  • Developed a residence time equation, based on residence time vs bacteria, that allows us to calculate how thick to make the filter.
  • Established relationship with Dr. Tony Wren, a professor at Alfred University.
  • Started our own microbiology lab in Alfred, NY, allowing on-going microbiology work and easy access to individuals and labs at Alfred University.
  • Met weekly to support Rina, the director of water filters at SHEEP, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
  • Established a support group, consisting of Esther Buckwalter, Kristina Blank, and Morgan Kube, to support Nick in his water filter work.

Nick and Nate Halverson pausing from lab work for a photo-op


Accomplishments By SHEEP in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

  • Rina sought out local experts in microbiology where she attained proper training in techniques including basic lab techniques, sterile techniques, testing water from wells, Most Probable Number Test (MPN), and others.
  • SHEEP assisted with the first and second microbiology testing phases of Ari’s PhD. Thesis.
  • Rina started working with and training a laboratory technician, Pak Ardi.
  • Alfatoni (Toni) built a jig for holding the water filter in place on the bubble point tester, allowing SHEEP to measure the size of the largest pore in the filter.
  • Rina, Toni, Ari, and Ardi developed a testing procedure to measure how effective the test filters are at killing bacteria.
  • Rina has been meeting weekly with Nick.

Upcoming Work

Microbiology training in full swing-From Left: Indonesian Expert, Pak Toni, Pak Ardi, Pak Ari

Ongoing work in the US will concentrate on developing engineering equations for the variables that effect the safety of the filters. The residence time equation is one of the engineering equations. Once we have these equations, the goal will be to train SHEEP on these equations, and together produce a prototype.

Next week’s Post: Nate Halverson’s thesis in full and unabridged.

Read about Nick’s Volunteer work with Friends Peace Teams

Between June 2011 and June 2012 Nick Rozard spent a year in Indonesia transferring water filter technology, that he had developed, to SHEEP Indonesia.  The following articles detail that volunteer work with Friends Peace Teams: