Week 1

In the first week of our lab we discussed numerous ideas of how to incorporate Sub-Saharan Africa’s natural resources with alternative energies such as solar power. Our initial design had a high concentration of of solar energy being used to disinfect a container holding water by turning it into steam. We then condensed that steam back into water and had a series of underground pipes that would channel the water into a a tight space that would increase the pressure of the water. The water would then be able to turn gears and generate electricity. Finally the water would fill up a well that the towns people could use. This would distribute this water throughout the town.

After rethinking our original idea, we came across the concept of a biosand filter. We decided to improve upon an existing filter that uses sand to clean drinking water. Our proposed improvements combine two effective water filtration methods - solar disinfection and sand filtration. By combining the two methods together, the new filter will produce cleaner drinking water at a faster rate than the existing filter design.