HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS FOR LOW TECH PROBLEMS

IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

JAEHONG KIM, PH.D. CARLTON S. WILDER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

JAEHONG KIM RESEARCH GROUP AT GEORGIA TECH

LIGHT UPCONVERSION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATION

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION OF NANOMATERIALS

DISINFECTION AND MEMBRANE PROCESS DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION

ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATION OF NANOMATERIALS

1.5 MILLION CHILDREN DIE EACH YEAR OF PREVENTABLE WATER AND SANITATION RELATED DISEASES GLOBALLY, DIARRHEA IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ILLNESS AND DEATH. 894 MILLION PEOPLE GLOBALLY LACK ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER SUPPLY (1 IN 6 PEOPLE) ALMOST 50% OF ALL PERSONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE SUFFERING AT ANY GIVEN TIME FROM A HEALTH PROBLEM CAUSED BY WATER AND SANITATION DEFICITS 443 MILLION SCHOOL DAYS ARE LOST EACH YEAR TO WATER-RELATED ILLNESSES MILLIONS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS SPEND UP TO 4 HOURS A DAY COLLECTING WATER 507 GLOBAL CONFLICTIVE ACTS RELATED TO TRANSBOUNDARY WATER IN THE LAST 50 YEARS

GLOBAL WATER CHALLENGES

NEW UNDERGRADUATE COURSE FUNDAMENTALS OF WATER QUALITY TESTING, UV DISINFECTION AND MEMBRANE PROCESSES A WEEK-LONG FIELD TRIP TO CHINANDEGA, NICARAGUA

CHINANDEGA, NICARAGUA

CEE4803C ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

TEAM 2012 1 PROFESSOR, 2 GRADUATES, AND 10 UNDERGRADUTES

WATER SAMPLING AND TESTING IN CITY OF CHINANDEGA EL CHONCO RINCON DE GARCIA MINA DE AGUA VILLA CATALINA

CITY OF CHINANDEGA DUMP SITE

WATER PROBLEMS IN DUMP SITE COMMUNITY

PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL WATER QUALITY TESTING FIELD LABORATORY AT THE BASECAMP SITE

SOLAR-POWERED MEMBRANE FILTRATION SYSTEM DESIGNED AND INSTALLED BY CEE STUDENTS

SOLAR-POWERED UV DISINFECTION LID FOR WATER STORAGE TANKS

LOW-TECH SOLUTIONS FOR LOW-TECH PROBLEMS

SOLAR DISINFECTION (SODIS) APPLICATION IN DEVELOPING WORLD

HIGH-TECH

BOTTLES MADE OF NEW MATERIAL

WHICH EFFECTIVELY DISINFECTS WATER

IN RESPONSE TO SUNLIGHT?

NANOMATERIAL FOR DISINFECTION APPLICATION (IT’S GETTING A LOT CHEAPER THAN YOU THINK)

O2 1O2

Time (min)0 15 30 45 60

Log

( N/ N

0)

-3.0

-2.5

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

No C60derivativeWith UV cut-off filterWithout cut-off filter

CUSTOM-DERIVATIZED C60 BASED ON NANOMATERIAL

TAKES SUNLIGHT IN BOTH UV AND VIS

CONVERTS OXYGEN IN WATER

TO SINGLET OXYGEN A.K.A. REACTIVE OXYGEN

AS SHOWN VIA EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED UNDER ATLANTA SUNLIGHT

AND 1O2 KILLS VIRUS IN WATER

EXPLORING A NEW MECHANISM OF KILLING GERMS: UV-VIS UPCONVERSION NANOPHOSPHORS

(NO, IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE AT ALL, JUST NEW CHEMISTRY)

TAKES TWO OR MORE PHOTONS IN VISIBLE RANGE

“COMBINE” THEIR ENERGY

PRODUCES MUCH STRONGER

GERMICIDAL UV LIGHT

A SURFACE COATED WITH NOVEL VIS-UV UPCONVERSION PHOSPHOR

(A.K.A. KILLING DISK SAMPLE)

AND KILLS GERMS IN WATER

(GROWN ON SURFACE IN THIS EXAMPLE)

DARK

UNDER FLUORESCENCE LAMP

UPCONVERSION POLYMER THE FIRST MODABLE POLYMER WITH CONTROLLABLE UPCONVERSION

PdOEP PdOEP/DPA

CLRFLX only

DPA concentration

EXCITATION BY A COMMERICAL LASER POINTER (532 nm)

UPCONVERSION MICROCAPSULE FOR VISIBLE LIGHT SENSITIZED WATER TREATMENT

GREEN LASER IRRADIATION

O2

OH•

UPCONVERION MICROCAPSULE PHOTOCATALYST COMPOSITE

KILLS PATHOGENS AND DEGRADE POLLUTANTS

TAKES SUNLIGHT IN BOTH UV AND VIS

IF WE KNEW WHAT IT WAS WE WERE DOING, IT WOULD NOT BE CALLED RESEARCH, WOULD IT? - ALBERT EINSTEIN

PEOPLE ARE OUR PRIORITY

BREAKTHROUGH, SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AT THE FOREFRONT OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

EDUCATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS

OUR EDUCATION EXTENDS TO…

GERGIA TECH ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (GTEERIP)

FIVE WEEK-LONG RESIDENTIAL SUMMER PROGRAM HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

10-15 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EACH YEAR 62 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED SINCE 2005

THE WORLD IS OUR LABORATORY