HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS FOR LOW TECH PROBLEMS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD JAEHONG KIM, PH.D. CARLTON S. WILDER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

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1 HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS FOR LOW TECH PROBLEMS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD JAEHONG KIM, PH.D. CARLTON S. WILDER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

2 DISINFECTION AND MEMBRANE PROCESS DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION OF NANOMATERIALS JAEHONG KIM RESEARCH GROUP AT GEORGIA TECH LIGHT UPCONVERSION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATION ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATION OF NANOMATERIALS

3 GLOBAL WATER CHALLENGES 1.5 MILLION CHILDREN DIE EACH YEAR OF PREVENTABLE WATER AND SANITATION RELATED DISEASES GLOBALLY, DIARRHEA IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ILLNESS AND DEATH. 894 MILLION PEOPLE GLOBALLY LACK ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER SUPPLY (1 IN 6 PEOPLE) ALMOST 50% OF ALL PERSONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE SUFFERING AT ANY GIVEN TIME FROM A HEALTH PROBLEM CAUSED BY WATER AND SANITATION DEFICITS 443 MILLION SCHOOL DAYS ARE LOST EACH YEAR TO WATER-RELATED ILLNESSES MILLIONS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS SPEND UP TO 4 HOURS A DAY COLLECTING WATER 507 GLOBAL CONFLICTIVE ACTS RELATED TO TRANSBOUNDARY WATER IN THE LAST 50 YEARS

4 CEE4803C ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD CHINANDEGA, NICARAGUA NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE FUNDAMENTALS OF WATER QUALITY TESTING, UV DISINFECTION AND MEMBRANE PROCESSES A WEEK-LONG FIELD TRIP TO CHINANDEGA, NICARAGUA

5 TEAM PROFESSOR, 2 GRADUATES, AND 10 UNDERGRADUTES

6 WATER SAMPLING AND TESTING IN CITY OF CHINANDEGA EL CHONCO RINCON DE GARCIA MINA DE AGUA VILLA CATALINA

7 CITY OF CHINANDEGA DUMP SITE

8 WATER PROBLEMS IN DUMP SITE COMMUNITY

9 PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL WATER QUALITY TESTING FIELD LABORATORY AT THE BASECAMP SITE

10 SOLAR-POWERED MEMBRANE FILTRATION SYSTEM DESIGNED AND INSTALLED BY CEE STUDENTS

11 SOLAR-POWERED UV DISINFECTION LID FOR WATER STORAGE TANKS

12 HIGH-TECH LOW-TECH SOLUTIONS FOR LOW-TECH PROBLEMS SOLAR DISINFECTION (SODIS) APPLICATION IN DEVELOPING WORLD BOTTLES MADE OF NEW MATERIAL WHICH EFFECTIVELY DISINFECTS WATER IN RESPONSE TO SUNLIGHT?

13 NANOMATERIAL FOR DISINFECTION APPLICATION (IT S GETTING A LOT CHEAPER THAN YOU THINK) TAKES SUNLIGHT IN BOTH UV AND VIS CUSTOM-DERIVATIZED C 60 BASED ON NANOMATERIAL AS SHOWN VIA EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED UNDER ATLANTA SUNLIGHT AND 1 O 2 KILLS VIRUS IN WATER Log (N/N 0 ) No C 60 derivative With UV cut-off filter Without cut-off filter 1 O 2 TO SINGLET OXYGEN A.K.A. REACTIVE OXYGEN O 2 CONVERTS OXYGEN IN WATER Time (min)

14 EXPLORING A NEW MECHANISM OF KILLING GERMS: UV-VIS UPCONVERSION NANOPHOSPHORS (NO, IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE AT ALL, JUST NEW CHEMISTRY) TAKES TWO OR MORE PHOTONS IN VISIBLE RANGE PRODUCES MUCH STRONGER GERMICIDAL UV LIGHT DARK COMBINE THEIR ENERGY AND KILLS GERMS IN WATER (GROWN ON SURFACE IN THIS EXAMPLE) UNDER FLUORESCENCE LAMP A SURFACE COATED WITH NOVEL VIS-UV UPCONVERSION PHOSPHOR (A.K.A. KILLING DISK SAMPLE)

15 UPCONVERSION POLYMER THE FIRST MODABLE POLYMER WITH CONTROLLABLE UPCONVERSION PdOEP PdOEP/DPA CLRFLX only DPA concentration EXCITATION BY A COMMERICAL LASER POINTER (532 nm)

16 UPCONVERSION MICROCAPSULE FOR VISIBLE LIGHT SENSITIZED WATER TREATMENT TAKES SUNLIGHT IN BOTH UV AND VIS GREEN LASER IRRADIATION UPCONVERION MICROCAPSULE PHOTOCATALYST COMPOSITE O 2 OH KILLS PATHOGENS AND DEGRADE POLLUTANTS

17 IF WE KNEW WHAT IT WAS WE WERE DOING, IT WOULD NOT BE CALLED RESEARCH, WOULD IT? - ALBERT EINSTEIN

18 PEOPLE ARE OUR PRIORITY BREAKTHROUGH, SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AT THE FOREFRONT OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS

19 OUR EDUCATION EXTENDS TO GERGIA TECH ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (GTEERIP) FIVE WEEK-LONG RESIDENTIAL SUMMER PROGRAM HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EACH YEAR 62 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED SINCE 2005

20 THE WORLD IS OUR LABORATORY