I stumbled once article It explains why it is impossible for Kenya to explore more than 200 billion cubic meters of groundwater.
This water has the capacity to provide non-stop clean water to the nation for 70 years.
Sounds too good to be true.
The discovery of a huge aquifer in northwestern Kenya's Turkana County should have been music to the ears.
Imagine having this much water buried 300 meters underground in sun-baked land and falling prey to periodic droughts.
However, when the water turned out to be salty, cold water was poured on this good news.
To make matters worse, the Spanish company offered astronomical estimates of the cost of electricity if it were to start processing it for human use.
This raises the following questions:
Are there any local innovators who can test affordable ways to purify this water?
The WHO maximum permissible limits for total dissolved solids (TDS) in drinking water are: 150mg/l.
The level in this groundwater was seven times that amount, over 1000 mg/l.
at the same time, Desalination Although plants grow on the Kenyan coast to convert seawater into drinking water, the TDS of the seawater is still over 35,000 mg/l.
Something doesn't add up here…
A coastal seawater cleanup project may be a private project, but is it a wise use of electricity, even if it's solar energy?
Second, since clean water is a priority for many Kenyans, shouldn't the government have been more broadly involved to explore other ways to treat this water?
Water treatment is now a business limited to a small number of companies with the ability to design complex and efficient systems that run on electricity.
But what happens if more research and development goes into finding materials that can remove pollutants at low energy costs?
Fluorine
Let's think about fluorine.
This naturally occurring pollutant is not only a nuisance to many people, but also poses a health threat.
Dental and skeletal fluorosis is a condition that affects many people due to fluoride in drinking water.
However, research on several natural substances has proven that they can help in its removal.
As an added bonus, some of these filter materials can be made from waste.
One such waste is livestock bones.
I love bone broth, but what do I do with it afterwards?
good bone charcoal It contains a natural substance called hydroxyapatite, which is made of calcium and phosphorous.
Now, for some reason, fluoride is attracted to hydroxyapatite, so it can be easily removed without the need for energy.
In this regard, the social enterprise has launched a running water filtration program for local residents for a small fee.
Also, kenya Tanzania has the training and technology to manufacture its own fluoride water filters.
But when it comes to water business, fluoride removal isn't the only front line.
water disinfection
some social company And NGOs are boldly venturing into the world of water disinfection.
Many strategies have been used in this regard.
For some, portable water filtration devices and supplies of chlorine tablets are helping to prevent diarrheal diseases in their communities.
Other women's groups clay Pot filter manufacturers are trained in the use of advanced disinfectants like colloidal silver.
In short, available and affordable materials have been exploited by water operators, primarily using social entrepreneurship principles.
But the business of providing clean water doesn't stop there.
Research and innovation
The development of advanced materials for water treatment continues.
However, most cutting-edge technology is of Western origin, so more efforts are needed by local innovators on the waterfront.
So let's go back to the underground water puzzle that I played the lead role in.
nevertheless reverse osmosis (RO) is the standard water treatment method, but can you consider other methods?
One method touted as a challenger to RO is capacitive desalination or deionization. (CDI).
Compared to RO, CDI appears to use less energy, but has financial efficiency issues and uses more per liter of water.
However, because CDI uses electrodes (charged plates) to remove contaminants, more research input may be required to test the viability of different electrode materials.
Where do we go with this?
Water treatment is not only important to Kenya, it is extremely important to us.
If so, we need to put more effort into developing functional materials to remove stubborn contaminants from water.
Such efforts could help us access drinking water from highly saline sources.
Such initiatives can help provide water to everyone even during drought seasons.
Such initiatives could increase the scope for social water providers to serve local communities.
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