Chapter I

Introduction

Background of the Study

Water pollution is one the major problems of the entire world. It causes millions of

damages in our environment and to us humans. According to 2015 and 2016 figures from the

World Health Organization, 663 million people (9 percent of the world’s population) don’t

have access to safe drinking water, while 2.4 billion (40 percent of the world’s population)

don’t have proper sanitation (hygienic toilet facilities). Water-related illnesses such as

diarrhea kill 525,000 children under five each year. Water pollution also kills various kinds of

animals and plants. (WHO,2016).

Water pollution means one or more substances have built up in water to such extent

that they cause problems for animals, plants, or people. Water pollution happens when toxic

substances enter bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and so on, getting dissolved I

them, lying suspended in the water depositing on the bed. This degrades the quality of the

water. Water pollution is caused by ocean litter, oil spills, sewage, waste water, chemical

waste, radioactive waste, and plastics are just few. All of these are human doings.

(WWF,2017).

Many Policies and Laws were formulated and implemented not only here in the

Philippines but also by the United Nations and the World Health Organization in order to

lessen the water problems here in the Earth. Many devices and gadgets were developed and

created in order to improve our situation in the water pollution problem. Millions of amounts

of money were invested in order to fix this worldwide crisis. Our team developed a device

which is effective and money-saving that is going to be very helpful in small communities

without access to clean, drinkable water.

Statement of the Problem:

The researchers aim to solve this problem by the end of the project making:

1. Will the device the researchers had developed be effective?

2. Will the device will be practical and the project making be complicated and

not costly?

Significance of the Study

Millions of people, plants, and animals around the world die because of water

pollution. Improper disposal of trashes, improper water filtrations, and oil spills are some of

the many reasons to cause the pollution in our environment. People of all ages can be affected

in the pollution due to the actions of the humans.

According to World Health Organization, 844 million people lack basic drinking-

water service, including 159 million people who are dependent on surface water. Globally, at

least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces. Contaminated

water can transmit diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio.

Contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause 502,000 diarrheal deaths each year. WHO

also stated that by 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.

Scope and Limitations of the study

This study is limited only to water pollution. This project making will be exclusively

located at Butuan City, Philippines. This study will be only focusing on creation of an

Alternative Water Filter. No other topics and other locations are involved throughout the

study.
 Chapter II

Review of Literature

This section presents the literature review and studies that are relative to the subject of

interest in the investigation. Accredited and published works by researchers and scholars will

be discussed to further explain the means of conducting the research study.

Charcoal

Charcoal is a widely used material in the world for the common purpose of starting a

fire or cooking. It is a common substitute for coal due to its availability and manufacturing

process. A native method of creating charcoal in the Philippines involves heating and burying

coconut shells for a certain amount of days. There are only two methods by which activated

carbon may be able to remove pollutants from water; one is through adsorption and the other

is through catalytic reduction. Adsorption refers to the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules

from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid into a surface. This is different from absorption because

particles undergoing absorption are taken up by the volume and not by the surface (as in the

case of adsorption).Catalytic reduction is a process wherein the negatively-charged ions of

the contaminants are attracted to the positively-charged activated carbon. Organic compounds

are filtered by adsorption and residual disinfectants such as chlorine and chloramines are

removed by catalytic reduction. (Anonymous, All-About-Water-Filters.com, 2019)

Sand and Gravel

Sand and Gravel are materials that are visible in many areas. It is commonly seen near

a body of water such as a river. These materials are mostly used today for construction

purposes. According to researches, gravel and sand are effective for filtering because it traps

foreign organisms such as small bugs, algae, zooplankton, suspended dirt, and any other large

particles in water.