Descrizione del progetto
Nuovi filtri per un’acqua potabile sicura
La Colombia soffre di uno dei più alti livelli di inquinamento da mercurio del mondo. L’inquinamento da mercurio e gli agenti patogeni impediscono alle comunità povere della Colombia di accedere a un’acqua potabile sicura. Il progetto FRESHWATER, finanziato dall’UE, lavorerà insieme alle comunità locali del paese per creare un sistema di filtraggio dell’acqua monitorato da meccanismi di controllo della qualità facili da usare e da leggere per produrre acqua potabile sicura e pulita. FRESHWATER svilupperà anche un rapporto di lavoro bidirezionale con un «campione della comunità», affinché possa sopravvivere al progetto. L’obiettivo generale del progetto sarà quello di migliorare la qualità dell’acqua nelle comunità a basso reddito così come nelle crisi umanitarie, abbassando così l’onere in caso di malattie trasmesse dall’acqua in America latina, Asia e Africa.
Obiettivo
Local communities in Columbia are lacking access to safe drinking water, principally due to mercury pollution and pathogens. Circumstances are such that access to a well-managed piped water supply system are not possible and therefore the communities require local low-cost point-of-use treatment. The objectives of the adsorbing Filters for REmoving pathogenS and Heavy metals in WATER project (FRESHWATER) are:
(i) to cocreate/codesign with local community members in deprived areas in Colombia adsorbing filters, sourcing local plant and other materials as feedstock;
(ii) to integrate these into adsorbing filters creating a robust and reliable water filtration system able to produce safe and clean drinking water, monitored by easy-to-use and easy-to-read quality control mechanisms, and
(iii) to develop a two-way working relationship with a “community champion” to outlast the duration of the project.
Using the engineering skills and knowledge of the Experienced Researcher and the host supervisory team at the University of Bath, UK, the project will lead to improve the quality of the water in low-income communities as well as in humanitarian crises, thus lowering the burden of waterborne diseases. This approach will be adoptable in a wider context in other poor communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. To cocreate/codesign the adsorbent, frequent field studies in one low-income community in Colombia will be undertaken during the project, in partnership with the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processes
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringwater engineeringwater supply systems
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
BA2 7AY Bath
Regno Unito