Design and Construction of Water Filtration System for Ghanaian Households

Capstone Project submitted to the Department of Engineering, Ashesi University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, May 2022Activities of illegal mining and improper waste disposal have mainly contaminated water bodies in Ghana with dirt, heavy metals, and other toxins, making it difficult for communities to acquire safe drinking water. The situation in rural areas aggravates due to the lack of decentralized water supply systems. Poor quality drinking water has numerous health complications and is more severe in children under five. In response to the challenge, a water filtration system was designed and modelled with SolidWorks software. A scaffold was built with extruded aluminium and covered with transparent Perspex glass before part assembling. Grey clay was obtained from the Savannah Region in Ghana for moulding a ceramic filtration unit for dirt and particulate removal. Activated carbon was obtained from coconut coir fibres fired at 900 for 30 mins for particulate and heavy metal adsorption. Other agricultural wastes produced from orange and banana peels were primarily used for heavy metal adsorption. Porous poly-dimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) membrane was obtained via solvent casting and leaching techniques to support the blockage of leaked particles from travelling through the filtration track. Experimental optimizations were done to reduce the turbidity and heavy metal levels in polluted waters. The filtration system proved to be effective in removing zinc, cadmium, copper and suspended particulates from contaminated water samples (compared with WHO recommended limits). Other water quality parameters: pH, conductivity, and turbidity, were regularly used to ascertain filter duration. The flow rates were determined and compared with the WHO limits. The result and implications were discussed to optimise a multipurpose water filtration system for affected communities.Ashesi Universit