Dutch pupils to test own pump in Ghana
December 29, 2010
By Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Every day many people in developing countries die due to a lack of clean drinking water. Three Dutch pupils may have found a solution: a pump that disinfects water and jerrycans with ozone. They are going to test it in Ghana. If it works, it could save countless lives.
The pump’s prototype was conceived and developed by Evelien van Zwol (18), Lianne Siemensma (17) and Wouter van der Wal (18), who attend a public school in Heerenveen in Friesland.
“It all began with a problem. There is, in fact, a lot of drinking-water, but most of it is underground. Sometimes it is clean, too, but people keep carrying it in the same jerrycans, year in year out. And those jerrycans, which they also use to carry petrol, are hotbeds for bacteria. So we began to think of solution.”
Ozone
They attacked the bacteria with bleach, hydrogen peroxide and ozone. Ozone, it turned out, gave the best results in the fastest way. It is, in fact, a kind of soap or detergent. They then developed a pump with a so-called piezo mechanism, which produces ozone when people manually operate the pump.
“The idea is to create ozoen with the piezo mechanism when you operate the pump to bring the water to the surface. The ozone is absorbed by the water, disinfecting it. The disinfected water, in turn, cleans the jerrycan where it is collected,” Lianne explains.
The pump requires no electricity. And the ozone breaks down within half an hour while low concentrations pose no danger. If the water contains too much of it, you smell it right away.
Bright water heads
Their design earned them the first prize at the “Bright water heads 2010” contest, where youths compete with their own solutions to real water issues. Having won, they represented the Netherlands at the Junior Water Prize, held in Stockholm in September.
Though they failed to win there, they found three US sponsors for their design: construction companies ITT and Black & Veatch, and aid organisation Water for People. Thanks to their help, next month the three pupils will travel to Ghana to test their design on location so they can develop it furhter. You can follow their findings on their blog.
Best material
In Africa they will team up with Ghanaian pupils to see which material best suits the pump. Iron is not suitable because ozone causes corrosion. In addition, the material should not be too expensive in Ghana. Another key consideration is to ensure that locals know how to repair the pump when it breaks down.
Hygiene
“The pump could be used around the world. People who use the pump no longer need soap to wash their vegetables. They can also use it after going to the toilet. It will improve hygiene hugely.”
As water, in the coming decades, will become ever scarcer, the pump could make a huge difference.
What do you think?
