Spatial Energy Coherence
   
 Copyrights(c) 2010, Dr. R. R. Stiffler 

 

Bio-Sand Water Filtration System
Dr. Stiffler1 and Dr. Conrad2

This is NOT a detailed DIY instruction set for building this filter system. It is rather
a view of what we did and what resulted from our work. YOU must do some research on
your own to insure that you understand the requirements of a system as described in this
paper. This paper is presented as an overview so that the concept can be seen and understand
that various configurations can be used and constructed, the simplest of which is the basic
sand filter alone, with no supporting extra filtration.

Introduction

Today all of us live in a dangerous and rapidly changing world, and it appears the direction in which we are headed is not in our best interest for continued survival.

The human race is being bombarded by Cosmic and Climatic changes and most alarmingly by powerful groups of men that hold our eradication as their main priority in efforts to contain and control the human race.

It is our view that scientists should avoid becoming embroiled in politics and radical human views, although we feel we must aid in whatever way we can to improve our chances in the coming hardship and chaos that is only months away from reality.

Surprisingly, impoverished and third world countries are better prepared than the United States with all of its technology and so called modernism.

Our first problem was to decide where to direct our effort and that quickly appeared to be the basic needs to sustain life, water and food.

As it turns out Dr. Conrad and myself both have considerable experience with water in one form or another. Neither of us is considered to be expert in food science, although we did go there in our research.

We also quickly determined that the population of the US would panic and die of thirst long before third world locations because they have little idea how to survive once the utility stops supplying their pressurized water.

Obtaining Potable Water

We begin by considering the worst of all conditions, those in which all electrical and water utility systems either fail or are compromised (rendered sporadic and or unsafe). See 'Producing Electrical Energy Under Attack'. We decided to focus on 'Water' first, as we already had solved the Electrical Energy problems, and one can survive longer without food than without water.

Early on we found that a simple and effective means for obtaining water already existed and was in daily use in much of the third world, as well as being a primary filtration method for many large city sized water supply systems.

What we found and expanded upon what is called a 'Bio-Sand Water Filtration System'. The simplest of which provides a moderately safe water supply for drinking (potable water supply).

Because we knew that additional components were readily available in the US from Home Supply Stores, we expanded on the total filtration offered by the minimal Bio-Sand System.

We first constructed the basic Bio-Sand Filter. We purchased a six (6) gallon food grade heavy-duty container3 and installed a nipple valve in the bottom section of the container, about one inch (1.0") above the floor of the container.

The Primary Filter Container (red in left corner, shown with its lid on)

Fig: 1

We do not supply specific specifications on the container, valve, hose, filters or other parts of the system as this is a do it with what you can find project. We do not feel it appropriate to specify specific components as that could limit ones ability to construct a working system. We suggest that you search the Internet and explore what is being done and what is being used in other parts of the world. One will quickly find that this is a simple project as far as the initial filter and anyone should be able to construct on from parts available.

The 1st. or Primary Shutoff Valve

Fig: 2

This valve was obtained from a 'Home Brew' supply store and selected because it was a complete unit, containing the proper hose nipple, gasket and nut for mounting to the container. It was rather difficult to obtain complete 'Bulk Head' fittings that contained all needed components for leak free mounting.

Remember, and this is critical, only use Brass, Copper, Galvanized or plastics approved for Potable usage. Any other metals or plastics will leach products into your water that may be far more dangerous than those you are trying to remove.

The Bio-Sand Filter itself is the primary filter and in many parts of the world is the only filter utilized to provide moderately clean drinking water. Therefore the construction of our filter needs to be explored.

The container is first washed clean with a weak solution of Chlorine and warm water. This pre-cleaning is just something we felt we needed to do.

After a rinse with fresh clean water we placed twenty-five (25) pounds of small river pebbles in the bottom of the container. The pebble size varied to no greater than 1/2" and this size was a small percentage of the total rock used. The pebbles were purchased from a 'Home Depot' home improvement store and were washed by us a number of times before placement in the container.

On top of the pebbles we placed a one-inch (1") layer of activated charcoal cloth (obtainable from a pet supply and either used as an odor filter or filter element for fish tank filters).

Over the charcoal layer we added fifty pounds (50lbs) of fine cleaned 'Play Sand' also obtained from a 'Home Depot Store'. The Play Sand is just the correct size for a Bio-Filter and as purchased was pre-cleaned.

This is a basic bio-sand filter used in many places of the world as a filter for gray and brackish water and bring to a potable state. We must add that in most third world locations, the overall height of the filter (sand and pebbles) is about a meter and in our case we are a bit shy of those dimensions, only because of some added filtration.

The bio-sand filter is very effective for the removal of biological agents and parasites that are very undesirable for human consumption. Although it is limited in what it can remove in the way of both toxic metals and chemicals. For these reasons we did add secondary filtration.

It is important to understand that a bio-sand filter is not fully effective at the time of construction. It can take two to three weeks to build up its internal bio-film and become effective and most protective during in its operation.

We learned quickly that you do not prime your filter with 'Tap Water' or any other water that is moderately clean and treated. Doing so will inhibit rather than stimulate the bio-film growth in the filter. Prime your filter with 'Dirty' water as strange as that may sound.

Added, Second Stage Activated Charcoal Filter

Fig: 3

The filter was constructed with a standard filter cartridge container, but a commercial filter was not in place. We filled the container with activated charcoal beads (obtained from a pet store and used in fish tank filter systems). The input to the filter is the hose on the left and it comes directly from the valve on the bottom of the primary filter tank.

The output (right side) of the secondary charcoal filter feeds into a plastic 'Tee' connector. The 'Tee' connector feeds two brass valves, one that controls the input to the secondary bio and Chemical Filter4 and a second that is used for clean out and drain the charcoal filter.

Valve Arrangement

Fig: 4

 

Bio-Sand Filter

Fig: 5

How the BioSand Water Filter works - Samaritan's Purse CANADA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb0xf3mRbJM

Fig: 6

Figure (6) and (7) shows the simple disperser we used, and it is a light weight Stainless Steel Kitchen Colander which was purchased at a large chain store for $4.96. This particular item was selected because of the two handles that fit nicely into the filter and supported it on the container edges. A second advantage was the graduated holes, which allowed for even dispersing of the water over the sand bed.

 

Fig: 7

Fig: 8

The completed filter was placed inside of a small plastic container with doors. Of course the container is not a requirement, yet it provides a great amount of protection to the apparatus and shields the it from the general public.

Filter Startup (how we did it)

Even though we end up with a working filter that removes many dangerous bio-forms and chemicals, we were inclined to clean each part of the system before assembly began. This was done using hot water and a good detergent, washing all containers and hoses that would be used. This was followed by a solution of (Clorox) and water that was a weak mixture that was let stand in and on the hardware for at least one-hour, followed by a rinse with clear water.

The river pebbles were not pre-washed and we would have washed them anyway, so we ran clean water over the material for some time, until the run off water was clear.

The sand is sold as pre-washed and even though the sand would be turned into a bio-factory we felt compelled to run water over it to insure that we removed what we could.

In the bottom of the filter container where we installed the outlet valve we were concerned about the valve becoming plugged by pebbles and built a collection pipe from some potable PVC. The 1/2" pipe length was cut to match the inside diameter of the container and one end was fitted with a pipe cap. The pipe was drilled along its length wit a large number of 1/8" holes. See Figure 5.

Next the pipe was fitted to the outlet valve and the bottom of the container was filled with the specified amount of clean river pebbles followed by the carbon cloth layer. The sand was poured over the top of the cloth and pebble bed and smoothed at the surface. 

The last step involved connecting up the secondary and tertiary filters and valves before a final leak testing.

Now it must be fully understood that it can take two or more weeks for the sand filter to become fully effective and this can vary depending not only on environmental temperature but also on the water used to initialize the process. Do not make the mistake that we did and think one can charge the filter by using clean already potable water, as the filter requires bio-agents in order to build the required colonies that make it and effective filter.

Because the activated charcoal filter we constructed contained an amount of carbon dust, the valve to the final filter was closed and the sand filter was filled with water and allowed to drain through the carbon filter until no further carbon dust was seen.

We did not open the valve to the final filter until we confirmed via microscope that we had a vast number of bio-colonies in the sand. We feel it would be an advantage not to allow flow through the final filter until the whole system was pressed into service in an emergency.

Now a critical fact that must be realized, even with all this filtration, we still treat the water from the last filter with 'Chlorine' and let it stand for a period, before it is felt safe for drinking. This is of course far in excess of what is done in many 'Third World Countries', but, if you have the capability, why not add this layer?

A very large number of videos can be found on 'You-Tube' and it is highly recommended that you do research on some of these videos so that you can build a firm understand of the system and how it works before building on. This preparation will insure a filter that can work and will be a lifesaver when needed.

Coming in a following paper; 'Killing Biologic Agents With SEC Exciters'.

 

 

 

 

 

References

[1] Dr. Stiffler is the principal and Senior Scientist with Stiffler Scientific.

[2] Dr. Conrad is an associate scientist providing support for many of the research projects conducted at Stiffler Scientific.

[3] The container we used was sold at a Pet Store for the storage of dry pet food. The lid was of screw type and contained a gasket. Insure that the container you use is food grade. Never use a container with the plastic marking stamp of {3}, {6} or {7} as this will add leached chemicals to the water from the plastic.

[4]The filter selected was a basic filter that was specified in the removal of the following components. 'Cysts, Lead Mercury, Rust, Atrazine(Herbicide) and Asbestos'