Development of a Personal Water Purification Solution in the Philippines

Manhattan College, 2008 - $8,000

This grant addresses the scarce supplies of purified water in the region of Nagcarlan, Philippines by creating a course, Entrepreneurship for Society, to examine the problem and offer a long-term solution. The course will allow two international teams of faculty and students from Manhattan College and De La Salle University in the Philippines to collaborate. The course will teach entrepreneurship principles while creating a non-profit organization. It will also design a low-cost personal water purification device. The water filters will use activated carbon, shown to absorb chlorine and harmful organic compounds from water, while sparing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds. The carbon can be obtained easily from coconuts.