About Mor-Sandfilter
The Mor-sand Filter is made by local entrepreneurs and from local materials. It can produce about 100litres of water per day for drinking and cooking use sufficient for 20 people for up to 18-24 months with minimal maintenance or operational cost. It is cased in concrete and contains several layers of carefully sorted sand topped by a layer of a unique plant; the filter blends the slow sand filtration process pioneered by the BioSand filter with the coagulation and flocculation properties of powdered Moringa oleifera seed. A comparative analysis of raw water versus Mor-sand Filter treated water conducted by RAWDP indicates that it inactivates pathogens, removes chemicals, lowers turbidity and has a strong neutralizing effect on acidic water.
Moringa oleifera is the best known of the 13 species belonging to the genus Moringaceae. It is a fast growing, drought-resistant tree that is native to sub-Himalayan tracts of Northern India, but is now distributed worldwide in the tropics and sub-tropics. The press cake obtained as a byproduct of extracting oil from Moringa seeds contains a high level of proteins, approximately 1% of which are active cationic polyelectrolytes that neutralize negatively charged colloids in dirty water. This protein can therefore be used as a non-toxic natural polypeptide for sedimenting mineral particles and organics in the purification of drinking water. Industrial coagulants such as alumina, which in other situations may be a realistic option, can be expensive and toxic, and to be used properly require qualified personnel who are not readily found in the majority of developing countries. Moringa has great potential to become one of the most economically important tree crops for the tropics and sub-tropics. With all of its many attributes, including its ability to thrive under difficult conditions and the properties which offer nutritious food, clean water, medicine and income, it is no wonder some call Moringa "the miracle tree".
According to RAWDP, compared with the BioSand filter, pioneered by the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technologies (CAWST), which relies on a biological layer that needs a minimum of 17 days to form, the Mor-sand filter with its Moringa coagulant layer can be used as soon as it is installed at one's home. Moringa powder for direct use in household water treatment can be prepared from harvested dried seed pods using traditional methods of producing corn flour, mixing it with clean water into a paste, and then stirring the paste in proper proportion into a container with dirty water. Once the impurities from the dirty water combine and settle with the paste to the bottom, the clean water is simply poured off the top. The Mor-sand Filter is an improvement on this method because the user does not have to decant the purified water, and the re-growth of pathogens, which may occur with the direct use method, is not experienced.