ineering ng & E P l r a o c i c e m s Opoku-Duah et al., J Chem Eng Process Technol 2015, 6:3 e s Journal of h T C e f c h o DOI: 10.4172/2157-7048.1000239 l ISSN: 2157-7048 n a o n l o r g u y o J Chemical Engineering & Process Technology CommentryResearch Article OpenOpen Access Access Validation of the PATHOGENA Electron-Activated Reactor for Purifying Contaminated Water in the Parkersburg Area in West Stephen Opoku-Duah*, Gordon Wells1, Wycliff Kipkomoi1, Ashley Wilcox1, Dennis Johnson2 and Mark Wiley3 1Ohio Valley University College of Arts and Sciences, Ohio Valley University, 1 Campus View Drive, Vienna, WV 26105 2EcH2O International Group, 14 Inverness Drive East, Suite D-112, Englewood, CO 80138 3TCG Global, 14104 E. Davies Ave., Suite B, Centennial, CO 80112 Abstract This paper concerns validation of the PATHOGENA version of electron-activated reactors designed to purify contaminated water to make it potable. The basic design of PATHOGENA is a 100-gallon plastic tank batch reactor which houses a vapor-ion plasma (VIP) generator and 1-micron ion-separator (ION-SEP) porous water filter. While the VIP generator splits ambient air into aggressive water treatment agents in the form of charged ions, free electrons, hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals using UV radiation, the ION-SEP filter is designed to eliminate broad-spectrum bacteria and other microbes. The validation process was started with creation of water quality database from: (a) contaminated surface water; (b) EPA/West Virginia Water Quality Standards, and (c) Vienna City Council drinking water. The PATHOGENA purifier was then run 14 days/month from April-September 2014 and samples analyzed for chemical and bacteriological quality. When the results were matched against previous data, PATHOGENA compared favorably with both EPA/West Virginia water quality standards and Vienna City drinking water (R2 = 0.99; p<0.011; N = 13). The study found PATHOGENA as an affordable technology capable of delivering clean water to households at about $0.27 per person per day with economic savings of nearly $7.00 at the same rate. Keywords: Validation; PATHOGENA; Electron reactor; The PATHOGENA water purifier has proved successful at cleaning Contaminated water; Treatment; EPA water standards contaminated water at the Denver Memorial Hospital, MIT Nuclear Reactor Lab and US Navy Shipyard Storm water; part of which is Introduction reported by [14]. The uniqueness of this study is validation of the Nearly 800 million people representing 11% of the world’s domestic version of PATHOGENA, for which we hypothesize the population have no access to good drinking water; 40% of this number reactor’s capability of purifying and delivering potable water at an lives in Sub-Saharan Africa [1]. Consumption of contaminated water affordable price to local people in poor countries. Specifically, this paper leads to serious health problems in poor countries of which guinea is aimed at examining PATHOGENA’s water purifying capability and worm infection, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis and affordability at the poor village level. gardiasis are well-known. Aside from this, health experts are concerned The study area about potential health hazards posed by consuming contaminated water; some health hazards are described in Table 1. The search for The inventor and patent-holder of the PATHOGENA electron- water from long distances (sometimes 5 miles away from home) also activated reactor is Dennis Johnson of the EcH2O Group (Colorado) imposes health and economic burden on women and children who but through collaborative permission, this validation was implemented remain0020traditional water-finders in many poor countries [2,3]. The at the Ohio Valley University in West Virginia (Figure 1). The Ohio connection between bad drinking water and poverty in the developing Valley University is a small, liberal-arts baccalaureate college located world was one of the main reasons the United Nations launched the in the Wood County of West Virginia. The Wood County (US Census Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2000. An important goal population for 2010 = ~87,000) is home to the mid-Ohio River valley, of the MDG was that research and capital investment in global water where the Ohio River drains downstream serving as the boundary supply should lead to 92% worldwide access to clean water by 2015; between the States of West Virginia and Ohio (Figure 1). The Little unfortunately, this target has not been achieved for most part of the Kanawha River serves as the main tributary of the Ohio River in developing world [1,3]. Parkersburg; which in turn is fed by small streams like the Pond Run. The geology of the area is typified by highly permeable sand and gravel In countries where treated water is mainly available to the urban glacial outwash deposits whose high-yielding aquifers partly serve the population, research is still needed to develop easy-to-operate and water needs of the local population [15]. Surface and groundwater affordable water treatment systems to help deliver potable water to the majority of the population [2-4]. Since 2000, many papers have been published to document new water treatment technologies which *Corresponding author: Stephen Opoku-Duah, College of Arts and Sciences, can be categorized broadly as follows: (1) chemical water treatment Ohio Valley University, 1 Campus View Drive, Vienna, WV 26105; Tel: 304-865- 6184; E-mail: [email protected] systems (e.g. chemical treatment, ion-exchange and oxygenation), and (2) mechanical water treatment systems (e.g. separation, filtration, Received July 01, 2015; Accepted July 27, 2015; Published July 29, 2015 radiation, etc.) [5]. Speaking about wider coverage, technology Citation: Opoku-Duah S, Wells G, Kipkomoi W, Wilcox A, Johnson D, et al. affordability and uptake in the developing world, non-chemical (2015) Validation of the PATHOGENA Electron-Activated Reactor for Purifying treatment systems like gaseous ozone, visible/UV photocatalytic Contaminated Water in the Parkersburg Area in West. J Chem Eng Process Technol 6: 239. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000239 disinfection, ion-exchange resins, carbon-fiber filtration and free- electrons exposure seem to be reasonable ideas [5-13]. This explains Copyright: © 2015 Opoku-Duah S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits why the PATHOGENA free-electron-activated system (Figure 1) is the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the subject of this study. original author and source are credited. J Chem Eng Process Technol ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000239 Citation: Opoku-Duah S, Wells G, Kipkomoi W, Wilcox A, Johnson D, et al. (2015) Validation of the PATHOGENA Electron-Activated Reactor for Purifying Contaminated Water in the Parkersburg Area in West. J Chem Eng Process Technol 6: 239. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000239 Page 2 of 6 Contaminants Source of Contamination Potential Health Hazard Erosion of natural deposits; water additive to Fluoride promote strong teeth; discharge from aluminum Bone tenderness and pain and fertilizer plants Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic Respiratory and spleen infection; Nitrate tanks; sewage sources; discharge from natural increased risk of cancers; dysfunction of Inorganic Contaminants deposits thyroid gland Liver and kidney damage (especially Discharge from water service lines; leakage from Lead pregnant women and children); increased plumbing fittings in old houses risk of cancers Discharge from mining and chemical plants; Damage to heart, liver, bladder and Arsenic* leakage from oil and gas wells kidney; impaired central nervous system Water additive used to control microbes; septic Eye and nose irritation; stomach Chlorine tanks discomfort By-product of drinking water disinfection; urban Increased risk of cancers; liver and kidney Volatile Haloacetic acids storm water runoff disease By-product of drinking water disinfection; septic Increased risk of cancers; liver and kidney Total trihalomethanes Organic Chemical tanks; urban storm water runoff disease Contaminants Increased risk of cancers; liver and kidney disease; Synthetic Examples: Atrazine, Agriculture; residential uses; urban storm water key endocrine (e.g. estrogen) disruptors (mainly pesticides rotenone, paraquat, runoff – Rotenone and paraquat have been and herbicides) dibromochloro-propane, etc. associated with Parkinson’s disease (Tanner et al. 2011) Viruses, bacteria, Human and animal waste; sewage system Gastrointestinal illness (mainly diarrhea, Microbial contaminants protozoa and parasites, e.g. vomiting and cramps); headaches Giardia limblia Examples: Groundwater; oil and gas wells; Radioactive contaminants* Radon gas, Increased risk of lung cancer radon leakage from homes Radium (226/228) NOTE: The parameters marked (*) were studied because of lack of laboratory resources and will be addressed in the next study. Table 1: Key water contaminants matched against potential health hazards. pollution is well-documented by authors like Kozar and McCoy [15], Foreman et al. [16] and Lutterel [17]. These reports show that water pollution in the area comes mainly from surface runoff across the district’s rural ecosystem, discharges and occasional effluent spillages from local chemical industries. Materials and Methods Materials The PATHOGENA electron-activated reactor (Figure 2) consists of: (1) 100-gallon plastic tank batch reactor;