The Suitability of Hybrid Fe0/Aggregate Filtration Systems for Water Treatment
, Bernard Konadu Amoah 2, Raoul Tepong-Tsindé 1,7, Arnaud Igor Ndé-Tchoupé 2,7, Marquise Touomo-Wouafo 8, Brice Donald Btatkeu-K 8, Willis Gwenzi 9, Rui Hu 2, Jean Bosco Tchatchueng 8, Hans Ruppert 10 and Chicgoua Noubactep 1,2,6,11,12,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This communication studied the the relationships between aggregate addition and the sustainability of 41 Fe0/H2O filtration systems.. A literature survey regarding efforts for self-reliance in sustainable water management worldwide using affordable and efficient green technologies was well made. I would highly suggest to publish this work if the following issues could be addressed.
- affiliation 19 do not exist.
- presentation of Table 1 must be verified. They are not presented in a proper form.
- conclusions must be concise. The references must be eliminated from the conclusion part.
Author Response
Many thanks for this evaluation!
affiliation 19 do not exist.
Thanks, we have corrected and revised the whole affiliation, one e-mail address was also mixing.
presentation of Table 1 must be verified. They are not presented in a proper form.
Thanks, we have revised Table 1.
Conclusions must be concise. The references must be eliminated from the conclusion part.
Done, thanks!
Reviewer 2 Report
This manuscript reports on work that is highly relevant to the Field of Water. I would recommend that the manuscript should be accepted after minor revision because there are still some details left that require more careful explanation. After minor revision, the manuscript will reach the standard required for publication in Water.
The authors mentioned about costs of the analyzed method, however, they, do not mention how high they are. The economical site of the proposed solution is missing. It will be good to put the simple costs calculations for the proposed solution, especially the authors stated: "It is predicted that the number and adoption of decentralized Fe0-based water treatment systems will increase exponentially".
Author Response
Many thanks for this evaluation!
The authors mentioned about costs of the analyzed method, however, they, do not mention how high they are. The economical site of the proposed solution is missing. It will be good to put the simple costs calculations for the proposed solution, especially the authors stated: "It is predicted that the number and adoption of decentralized Fe0-based water treatment systems will increase exponentially".
We have added the following text (in “3. Economics of Fe0 filters”):
“Despite their promise, Fe0 filters have so far failed to attain the expected widespread adoption within low-income communities [29,143-147]. To be commercially viable, the costs of producing, marketing, and distributing Fe0 filters should be covered by the purchase price paid for the product by the consumer. Bretzler et al. [148] recently gave an overview of the state of art knowledge on the development of Fe0 filters for save drinking water provision for low-income communities. The most widely used Fe0 filters so far are the SONO arsenic filter (SAF) developed in Bangladesh and employing a proprietary porous composite iron matrix (CIM) [78,146,149,150], and the Kanchan arsenic filter (SAF) developed in Nepal, employing iron nails [129]. SAF filters have been more successful than KAF and is often considered as the basis for designing alternative Fe0 filters [146,148]. Reproducing SAF without using a porous Fe0 material like CIM is challenging [86]. Iron filings, iron nails, iron shavings/scrap, and steel wool have been tested and used as alternatives [57,89]. Iron nails and steel wool are the most widely used Fe0 alternative sources. One ton (1000 kg) of iron nails costs up to USD 1000 [148], meaning that if 5 kg of iron nails is used for each alternative Fe0 filter, 1 ton will enable manufacturing 200 Fe0 filters. USD 1000 is then the money expense (not the price) for 200 Fe0 filters in a “Small is Beautiful” approach. With USD 1000, just some 20 SAF filters can be bought (USD 50/unit) [146]. In other words, by adapting the DIY approach 20 times more filters are produced, with the additional advantage that the maintenance is operated domestically. Tepong-Tsindé [57] recently designed a Fe0 filter containing only 300 g of a commercial steel wool which was more efficient for drinking water treatment than systems containing 5 kg iron nails. These two examples clearly show that there is room to optimize Fe0 consumption and water treatment.”
