Wendy
Green [pictured below receiving her prize] has been awarded
a Certificate
of Commendation for her
Environmental Science first class honours project at the Australian
Water Association Undergraduate Water Prize night held in March
2004.
The larger unit
studied by Wendy is now being used on the CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA
TSUNAMI CLEAN WATER PROJECT which has constructed and deployed
60 Skyhydrants
to tsunami affected regions of Sri Lanka
- and is currently raising funds to deploy a further 200. Only a medium
term solution for communities, the SKYHYDRANT, developed by Memcor
and in cooperation with SkyjuiceTM Foundation can produce up to 10,000
litres of water per day, enough to supply a small village for up to
5 years.
Wendy's project
focused on assessment of a water purification unit, by implementing
the new
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Environmentally
Sound Technology Performance Assessment (ESTPA). The ESTPA assessment
incorporates elements of sustainability assessment in a practical way.
The abstract (below) gives further details on the project.
Environmental Performance Assessment of a microfiltration technology
- the Sky Juice water treatment unit - for developing countries.
One billion people, mostly
in developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water
and water treatment is often required due to
pollution of water sources. A low cost microfiltration technology,
the ‘Sky Juice’, can remove turbidity, bacteria and parasites
from water. The objectives of the project were to verify the Sky Juice
technology performance and also determine if it was a suitable environmentally
sound technology in comparison to alternative disinfection methods.
For verification of the Sky Juice technology, laboratory examination
of clay and algae turbidity removal by three Sky Juice units as well
as bacterial removal by another three Sky Juice units were conducted.
Control and membrane fault tests were also performed using deionised
water and the bubble point test.
The Environmentally Sound
Technology – Performance Assessment
(EST-PA) was used to assess the Sky Juice, chlorine disinfection (by
Calcium Hypochlorite) and SODIS technologies in detail. The EST-PA
was still under development by the United Nations Environment Program.
EST-PA proposed criteria and indicators were used with some suggested
changes to analyse the technologies. To compare the technologies and
make EST-PA operational, a rating system was incorporated. Field verification
information from Laos was collected as a last stage in EST-PA to validate
the technical assessment and determine if the Sky Juice was suitable
and socially accepted in field conditions.
The Sky Juice performance
met manufacturer’s claims and World
Health Organisation guidelines always after five minutes of use since
cleaning the membrane. Within the first five minutes, small clay particles
passed through the 0.2µm membrane giving slightly higher turbidity
readings. Four out of six Sky Juice units tested had several faulty
membrane fibres. Due to these faults bacteria removal could not be
confirmed in the first five minutes of use of the Sky Juice but past
experience showed complete removal by intact membranes on larger systems.
It is recommended that simple bubble point tests to check for faults
before delivery and installation of the technology. The Sky Juice was
found to be the most environmentally sound technology and could suitable
for low virus risk areas, whilst chlorine disinfection could be suitable
where accepted but had higher environmental impacts. The SODIS technology
still performed well in environmental performance but was mainly suitable
for warmer and lower rainfall climates. Field verification showed that
Sky Juice was socially acceptable and suitable for use in a rural village
in the mountains of Laos.
Further research could be conducted on the Sky Juice production to
ensure no faulty fibres are used and to confirm complete removal
of bacteria. The removal rates of viruses from natural waters could
also
be investigated. The suggested improvements to the ESTPA assessment
could be implemented to make ESTPA operational and useful for others.
