Team Members: Johanna Mathieu, Tasnuva Khan, Kosar Jahani...

Figure 1. Arsenicosis sores on a woman’s hands (Bangladesh, March 2007).

Submission to the Bears Breaking Boundaries Competition: Global Poverty Reduction April 23, 2007

Team Members: Johanna Mathieu, Tasnuva Khan, Kosar Jahani, and Mehmet Seflek Advisor: Professor Ashok Gadgil, ERG/LBNL Web: http://arsenic.lbl.gov

1. Introduction Naturally-occurring arsenic in drinking water is a major public health problem threatening the well-being (and in many cases, lives) of more than a hundred million people worldwide. According to World Health Organization estimates, in Bangladesh alone, 30-70 million people drink arsenic laden water from shallow tubewells (Ahmad et al. 2003). The country is currently experiencing the largest case of mass poisoning in human history. Arsenic-laden water is also known to exist in Argentina, Australia, Chile, China, Hungary, India, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Thailand, and the United States. In the short-term, arsenic poisoning is painful and disfiguring (Figure 1). The long-term effects of this poisoning include liver and spleen enlargement and cirrhosis of the liver; myocardial degeneration and cardiac failure; peripheral neuropathy affecting primary sensory functions; diabetes mellitus and goiter; and cancer of the bladder, kidney, lung, and skin (Chen and Ahsan 2004; Ahsan et al. 2006). Vascular problems caused by arsenic can lead to gangrene and amputations. In West Bengal, India it has been estimated that the welfare benefits from removing arsenic from drinking water would be approximately $150 per person per year (Roy, 2005), and it is assumed that this figure would be quite similar in Bangladesh. Current medical solutions cannot adequately address the long-term effects of arsenic poisoning. Therefore, arsenic poisoning necessitates a preventative solution. 2. Project Background Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a simple material (“ARUBA”—Arsenic Removal Using Bottom Ash) that removes arsenic from drinking water cheaply, quickly, and effectively. ARUBA uses bottom ash, a finely powdered, sterile waste material from coal-fired power plants, as a substrate. Room-temperature chemistry is used to coat particles of bottom ash with ferric hydroxide Fe (OH) 3 (Figure 2). The treated ash is mixed into drinking water where it reacts with and safely immobilizes arsenic by converting it into insoluble ferric arsenate FeAsO4, which

Bears Breaking Boundaries Competition: Global Poverty Reduction Berkeley Arsenic Alleviation Group, April 23, 2007

can be filtered out of the water. Spent ARUBA is harmless enough for disposal in municipal landfills. Most notably, the raw materials necessary for manufacturing ARUBA are available worldwide, and the media can be produced with relatively simple equipment.

Figure 2. On the left, raw coal ash. Coal ash coated with ferric hydroxide (ARUBA) on the right. The Berkeley Arsenic Alleviation Group is an interdisciplinary team composed of four students—one graduate student and three undergraduates—studying engineering, business, and economics respectively. Our goal is to design a process that utilizes ARUBA to effectively and affordably remove arsenic from groundwater in rural Bangladeshi communities. In addition, we are developing a business plan for the implementation of the proposed process. Our technology and business plan aim to benefit poor Bangladeshis in rural villages, while still realizing a profit for the business, as financial sustainability is the key to long-term success. 3. Arsenic Remediation Technologies Many have suggested that the solution to the Bangladesh arsenic crisis is simply that people switch to deep tubewells, which are generally arsenic-free, or shallow tubewells that have been tested and shown to be arsenic-free (Gelman 2004). Unfortunately, this places a heavy burden on “safe” sources. Also, over time arsenic contaminated water can diffuse into new aquifers, contaminating sources previously thought safe. Other researchers have explored the possibility of encouraging people switch to surface water, rain water, or water from dug wells (Hoque 2000). However, rain is intermittent, and surface/dugwell water is contaminated with viruses and parasites. Until a simple, safe, and affordable system is developed and widely adopted for removing biological hazards, people will continue to choose arsenic-contaminated water over surface/dug well water, which can cause diarrhea and other immediate ill-health effects. There are currently a number of technologies that are used to remove arsenic from drinking water. Unfortunately, many of these technologies are afflicted with problems such as high cost, ineffectiveness in cases of high arsenic concentration, and/or difficulty


of use/maintenance. Reverse osmosis and other membrane processes are effective at removing arsenic but are expensive, inefficient, and require advanced equipment. Ion exchange resins are also effective but produce toxic waste streams, require a trained technician, and are very expensive. Some arsenic removal technologies utilize adsorption on to activated alumina, activated carbon, activated bauxite, or, like ARUBA, ferric hydroxide/oxide. In general, raw materials and manufacturing processes make these technologies expensive. ARUBA’s main advantage is that it is generated from an inexpensive waste material and the manufacturing process is simple. Several institutions, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lehigh University, Rajshahi University, and the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, have created simpler and less expensive arsenic removal technologies, specifically for use in the developing world. Unfortunately, some of these technologies require the on-site use of toxic chemicals, which rural populations have no ability to dispose of properly. Other systems, such as adsorption/filtration units, require a significant amount of maintenance and generally have low flow rates, making them unacceptable to users. One of the most well-known systems, the 3-Kolshi Filter promoted by BRAC, Bangladeshi’s largest NGO, uses iron filings to remove arsenic. Unfortunately, the filter is able to remove less and less arsenic over time and requires regular maintenance. Recently, the Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability was awarded by the National Academy of Engineering to what they deemed the most promising arsenic removal technology. The prize was given to Abul Hussam of George Mason University for his invention, the SONO filter, a point-of-use filter that is based upon the 3-Kolshi filter but uses a composite iron matrix to remove arsenic from solution. Although the filter is technologically sound, it costs $35 dollars. Considering that Bangladesh’s per capita GNI is $470 per year, we believe this system is too expensive, especially given the credit and savings restrictions the poor face. Moreover, the filter requires household maintenance and is only rated for 5 years of use. 4. Project Progress ARUBA presents a simple, effective, and inexpensive alternative to the technologies listed above. To date we have made a significant amount of technical progress along with identification of a preliminary business model and potential partners. a. Technical Progress Through a series of iterative experiments, the production of small batches of ARUBA has been standardized in the laboratory. ARUBA has undergone a significant amount of testing and proven effective in removing arsenic from arsenic-laced laboratory water and water shipped from West Bengal, India. In March-April 2007, two graduate students (Johanna Mathieu and Susan Amrose) traveled to Bangladesh to test ARUBA in the field. The objective of the trip was to


Figure 3. UC Berkeley graduate student Susan Amrose tests water for arsenic levels and collects water samples for treatment (Jhikargachha, Jessore, Bangladesh, March 2007).

demonstrate ARUBA’s ability to reduce arsenic concentrations in contaminated Bangladeshi groundwater (with initial levels of 200-600ppb arsenic) to below the Bangladeshi standard of 50ppb. Secondary objectives included conducting speciation tests (to determine As(III) vs. As(V) content), socio-economic observations, assessment of the accuracy of in-country arsenic testing facilities, resource identification, and collecting water samples for further lab work in Berkeley. Johanna and Susan visited six different villages and treated water from nine different

tubewells. The trip was incredibly successful and proved ARUBA to be effective in decreasing arsenic concentrations in Bangladeshi groundwater from 450ppb to less than the WHO standard of 10ppb in two geographically distinct parts of Bangladesh (Figure 3, next page). Based on data gathered in Bangladesh, we estimate that the raw materials necessary to produce ARUBA will cost $0.22 per person per year. Manufacturing and transport will add extra costs. Our goal is to ensure that all costs add to less than $10 per person per year for clean drinking water (assuming 10 liter per person per day), as we believe this will be affordable to a person earning $1 per day. b. Business Plan Progress & Initial Cost Estimates We have explored both household scale (point of use treatment) and community scale systems. As a result of discussions with Bangladeshi collaborators and our potential partners, we are currently pursing a community scale system. Our preliminary business model is based on that of WaterHealth International (Lake Forest, CA), a company that has been very successful in developing community-based water centers in twelve developing countries, including rural India. WaterHealth treats water for biological contaminates using inexpensive UV irradiation technology. In our model, water would be treated for arsenic, excess iron, and biological contaminates at a central facility (capable of serving approximately 2,000 people) that is leased/owned by the village council. The facility would be operated and maintained by an overarching company through contract with the village council. Water would be sold to the consumer for a couple of taka ($.02-$04) per 10 liter jug and families would have the option to arrange for delivery of water to their homes for approximately twice that price, a service that has proven incredibly


for

Figure 4. Arsenic concentrations (measured via arsenic “QuickTest,” Industrial Test Systems, USA) of tubewell water before and after treatment with ARUBA (Bangladesh, March-April 2007). Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry results pending. Tubewells 1 through 4 are in Jhikargachha Upazila, Jessore District; Tubewells 5 through 8 are in Abhaynagar Upazila, Jessore District; Tubewell 9 is in Sonargaon Upazila, Dhaka District. A single dose uses 1g of ARUBA to treat 250ml water, a double dose uses 2g of ARUBA to treat 250ml water, and quadruple dose uses 4g of ARUBA to treat 250ml. Note that the amount of ARUBA needed to reduce arsenic concentration to below the Bangladeshi standard (50ppb) roughly scales with the initial concentration of arsenic in the water. Colors of bars for post-treatment concentrations of arsenic for tubewells 4, 5, 6 and 9 may be hard to discern. Post-treatment bar for well 4 is green (single dose), 5 red (double dose), and 6 and 9 yellow (quadruple dose). successful for WaterHealth. We estimate that these modest prices will cover treatment costs and the salaries of several workers who will tend to the system and educate villagers on the importance of clean water. Based on information from WaterHealth, we also believe that these prices are affordable for the poorest members of rural communities. Our model and pricing strategy are based on the assumption of poor credit markets in rural communities. Given credit restrictions, it is difficult to justify investing in a household device that does not provide immediate benefits. Community-based service has many advantages. Villagers are not asked to make major investments into technology or take associated risks, but rather they purchase the exact item they are after: clean water. It is much more reasonable to expect the poor to purchase water costing a small fraction of their daily income (only 2-4% if they earn $1/day) than to save money for a household treatment unit. In addition, water delivery eliminates the need for people to

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Figure 5. A Bangladeshi man pumping water from a tubewell (Abhaynagar, Jessore, Bangladesh, March 2007).

actually travel to the treatment center to purchase water, and with our business scheme the water will remain affordable even with delivery. Importantly, in community based systems, water quality can be monitored and ensured, and villagers are not required to perform maintenance on their water treatment system. c. Potential Partnerships Currently, ARUBA technology is available for licensing through the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Several different companies have expressed interested in this possibility, and we have started discussions with a third regarding the design of a large-scale manufacturing system for ARUBA. We are also in touch with a Bangladeshi NGO who has expressed interest in helping us on the ground. 5. Future Goals Although we have made much technical progress, a comprehensive solution to the Bangladeshi arsenic crisis requires a solid business plan, social marketing scheme, and a public health component. Over the course of the next year we have goals to expand our project into these areas. In addition, we have many technical goals regarding the scale-up of ARUBA treatment and manufacturing. a. Technical Goals Thus far, we have determined that ARUBA is able to remove 0.7 mg arsenic per gram of ARUBA in the lab. The data we collected in the field brings that number down to 0.03 mg arsenic per gram ARUBA. Of course, we expected a significant decrease in efficiency given the complex makeup of actual Bangladeshi groundwater compared to de-ionized arsenic-spiked lab water. However, we hope to improve ARUBA efficiency through a careful analysis and optimization of our treatment procedure. To this end, this summer we will return to Bangladesh to collect more field data in order to confirm and refine our March-April 2007 results and perform a series of experiments to improve the efficiency of ARUBA in removing arsenic. In addition, we must determine how ARUBA can be used for treatment of large batches of arsenic contaminated water outside of a laboratory setting. We plan to design, build, and test a prototype community-scale treatment unit, which utilizes a series of filters, pumps, and mechanical mixers to not only remove arsenic, but also high levels of iron and biological contaminates from drinking water. Our goal is to make this unit energy efficient, mechanically simple, inexpensive, and effective at removing high levels of arsenic (i.e. 600ppb). We aim to use the knowledge we gain from this lab-based


prototype to design a treatment unit which can be constructed and tested in Bangladesh in summer 2008. We also need to begin to work on the issue of ARUBA manufacturing, and eventually ARUBA transport. As mentioned above, we have identified one company that may be interested in working with us on the technological components of this task. b. Business Plan Goals Our ultimate goal is to incorporate ARUBA technology into a self-sustaining business. Unlike charitable efforts, whose reach is often constrained by limited funding, our for-profit model will ensure greater access to our services. Although we currently have an overarching business model, we have yet to determine specifics in terms of financing, marketing, sourcing, and distribution. By the end of spring 2008, we hope to construct multiple business plans in order to determine which best complements the community scale treatment plant design. This process will give us alternatives which we can adapt to meet the needs of specific rural communities, as well as meet the demands of a future, more advanced system such as ARUBA-treated piped water. It has been shown by at least two independent studies that piped water is in demand and afforadable to rural Bangladeshis (Ahmad 2003; Hoque 2004). c. Diffusion of Innovations and Social Marketing Goals A primary challenge we face is convincing Bangladeshis that our technology is worthwhile and should be adopted. Since the effects of arsenic poisoning are not immediately evident, some may not realize the necessity of our arsenic removal system. At the same time, we must address the loss of hope in many Bangladeshis. Our trip to Bangladesh revealed that, as a result of the countless proposed solutions and field studies conducted previously by other groups, many villagers have become disillusioned. One of our goals for summer 2007 is to research other social business models and, with the help of Roger’s landmark text on diffusion (Rogers, 1995), determine the best way to convey the need for arsenic-free water, whether through local social workers, village meetings, pamphlets, etc. We also hope to design a marketing scheme that leverages social networks to communicate why our service is distinct and appealing. d. Public Health Goals In order to evaluate the impact of our technology we must conduct an analysis of the public health situation before and after any intervention. This study will also inform a cost/benefit analysis of our project. Therefore, we hope to begin work with a medical student who has expressed interest in quantifying the health/economic effects of arsenicosis and associated remediation technologies.


6. Conclusions While many researchers have attempted to solve Bangladesh's arsenic problem, few have been able to implement an affordable and sustainable solution. ARUBA's price point and technological simplicity as well as our proposed business model differentiate this solution from others. Although much of the basic science associated with the arsenic removing media has been completed, a comprehensive implementation scheme is still nascent. Turning ARUBA into a commercially viable product involves significant amounts of further field work, engineering, and marketing. Given the success we have already realized, we are confident in our ability to turn ARUBA into a self sufficient business that improves the lives and productivity of poor rural populations by providing them clean water. 7. References Ahmad, J., B. N. Goldar, et al. (2003). Willingness to Pay for Arsenic-Free, Safe Drinking Water in Bangladesh, New Delhi, India: Water and Sanitation Programme–South Asia, The World Bank.

Ahsan, H., Y. Chen, et al. (2006). "Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS): Description of a Multidisciplinary Epidemiologic Investigation." J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiology 16: 191-205.

Chen, Y. and H. Ahsan (2004). Cancer Burden From Arsenic in Drinking Water in Bangladesh, Am Public Health Assoc.

Gelman, A., M. Trevisani, et al. (2004). "Direct Data Manipulation for Local Decision Analysis as Applied to the Problem of Arsenic in Drinking Water from Tube Wells in Bangladesh." Risk Analysis 24(6): 1597-1612.

Hoque, B. A., M. M. Hoque, et al. (2004). "Demand-Based Water Options for Arsenic Mitigation: An Experience from Rural Bangladesh." Public Health 118(1): 70-7.

Hoque, B. A., A. A. Mahmood, et al. (2000). "Recommendations for Water Supply in Arsenic Mitigation: A Case Study from Bangladesh." Public Health 114(6): 488-94.

Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovation, The Free Press: New York. Roy, J. (2005). Estimating Economic Benefits from Arsenic Removal in India: A Case Study of West Bengal (Working Paper). Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.


Team Members Johanna Mathieu, Mechanical Engineering, Graduate Student Contact information: [email protected] 207-240-8428 (c) / 510-540-0510 (h) 1036 Park Hills Rd, Berkeley, CA 94708 Johanna is a first year graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley. Originally from Maine, she earned her undergraduate degree from MIT in Ocean Engineering in 2004 and then spent a year in Tanzania teaching secondary school physics and math. She has a significant amount of engineering research experience, having designed underwater robots and sensors, and an ocean wave energy harvesting system. She is particularly interested in designing technologies for sustainable communities in the developing world. In addition to spearheading the engineering work associated with this project, she is also involved in a project to provide energy-efficient lighting to fishermen in rural India. Tasunva Khan, Economics, Third-year Undergraduate Student Tasnuva is a third year student at UC Berkeley studying economics and industrial engineering. A native of Bangladesh, she has done much work aiding the urban poor of the country. She is interested in exploring her interests in business and engineering through work in the rural development sector. This is her first project involving the rural poor of the region. Kosar Jahani, Business, Fourth-year Undergraduate Student Kosar is a fourth year undergraduate student in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating in May she will be working at Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm, in San Francisco. She hopes to continue into higher education in the field of development economics. Mehmet Seflek, Economics, Second-year Undergraduate Student Mehmet is a second year economics student at the University of California, Berkeley. His main academic interest is the economic development of the Middle East. He hopes to expand his interests in development by volunteering for the United Nations Development Programme in Istanbul this summer. He plans to pursue a graduate degree in the field of developmental economics.

Faculty Advisor Professor Ashok Gadgil, ERG and LBNL At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Gadgil leads a group of about 20 researchers conducting experimental and modeling research in indoor airflow and pollutant transport. He has authored or co-authored more than 70 papers in refereed archival journals and more than 100 conference papers. Dr. Gadgil has a doctorate in physics from UC Berkeley, and is a Senior Staff Scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and an Adjunct


Professor in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. He has substantial experience in technical, economic, and policy research on energy efficiency and its implementation — particularly in developing countries. For example, the utility-sponsored compact fluorescent lamp leasing programs that he has pioneered are being successfully implemented by utilities in several east-European and developing countries. He has several patents and inventions to his credit, among them the “UV Waterworks,” a technology to inexpensively disinfect drinking water in the developing countries, for which he received the Discover Award in 1996 for the most significant environmental invention of the year, as well as the Popular Science award for “Best of What is New – 1996”. In recent years, he has worked on ways to inexpensively remove arsenic from Bangladesh drinking water. We consent to public, online dissemination of our white paper. Please note that on the suggestion of Thomas Kalil we have submitted this proposal to both the ‘neglected diseases’ contest and the ‘global poverty reduction’ contest.


Plans for Award Money If we are awarded a Bears Breaking Boundaries Competition grant, we will use the money to build a prototype community scale treatment system in the laboratory. First, we must perform a number of experiments to characterize and improve the arsenic-removal efficiency of ARUBA. We hope to explore how treatment time relates to arsenic removal capacity. We also hope to perform a number of experiments to determine if treating a contaminated water batch with sequential, small doses of ARUBA is more efficient than adding a single large dose. In addition to improving ARUBA efficiency, we must explore methods of scaling ARUBA manufacturing. This will require investigating different methods of mixing coal ash with the necessary chemicals, and drying ARUBA particles in a configuration that allows them to oxidize. In order to do this work, our biggest lab cost is arsenic testing. In the lab, we perform arsenic QuickTests; however, these tests are imprecise and so we must send samples to a local laboratory for Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry tests, which are far more accurate and expensive. We estimate we will spend upwards of $2000 on arsenic testing to complete all of these tasks. After we have results from the above experiments, we can begin to build a prototype water treatment unit. Our preliminary design involves a large settling tank, a mixing tank and energy efficiency mixing apparatus, high tech filtration unit, and storage tank, along with a series of pipes, hoses, and valves. We anticipate that prototype will cost about $10,000. If we are awarded a fraction of this sum through the Bears Breaking Boundaries Competition, we hope to raise the remaining amount required through our posting on the Big Ideas Marketplace website.

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