Module

2.2
2.2 Filter Construction

This module contains material relating to the construction of the BioSand

Concrete filter. It is meant as a supplement to hands-on training by a
qualified instructor. An aid to this module is the colour booklets contained
in the Appendices that illustrate the various aspects of building the filter.
Module 2.2 Filter Construction

2.2 FILTER CONSTRUCTION............................................................................................. ......1

SAFETY HAZARDS..............................................................................................................................2
Cement and Concrete....................................................................................... .......................3
Bleach...................................................................................................................................... 3
Tools......................................................................................................................... ...............4
Housekeeping....................................................................................................... ...................4
Injuries................................................................................................................. ...................4
Water Samples........................................................................................................ .................4
First Aid Kit.......................................................................................................................... ...4
CURRENT MOLD DESIGN....................................................................................................................5
FILTER TOOL KIT..............................................................................................................................5
Tools......................................................................................................................... ...............5
Supplemental items........................................................................................................... .......6
MATERIAL LIST FOR CONCRETE FILTER TRAINING..................................................................................7
Tool Kit............................................................................................................................ ........7
Media Sieves – for 3 sieves............................................................................................... .......7
Concrete Filter .................................................................................................. .....................8
Filter Media ................................................................................................ ...........................8
Filter Lids and Diffuser Basins .............................................................................................. .8
APPENDICES......................................................................................................................................8
Appendix C: Steel Mold Drawings.................................................................... ......................8
Appendix D: Steel Mold Fabrication Instructions.................................................... ...............8
Appendix E: Sieve Set Construction Manual......................................................... ..................8
Appendix F: Media Preparation Manual.............................................................................. ...8
Appendix G: Concrete Filter Construction Manual............................................................... ..8
Appendix H: Diffusers and Lids Manual............................................................. ....................8
Appendix I: Installation Operation & Maintenance Manual..................................... ..............8

Safety Hazards
It is important to work safely to avoid the potential for injuries while constructing a
BioSand filter. When building the filter, you will be using sharp tools, lifting heavy
pieces and handling potentially dangerous materials. When properly managed, the
risks involved in these tasks can be reduced to avoid injuries.

There are hazards that are present when constructing a concrete biosand filter.
Participants should be aware of these hazards and be cognisant of them as they proceed.
The following are hazards when building a filter:
• Handling of potentially dangerous materials such as cement powder, wet concrete
and bleach or sanitizing solution
• Incorrect use of tools – especially sharp tools
• Messy work spaces
• Heavy objects – filter mold, sand bags, cement bags, finished filter, water pails

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Module 2.2 Filter Construction

Cement and Concrete

Cement is a light gray powder made of a mixture of calcined limestone and clay; used
with water and sand or gravel to make concrete and mortar.

Concrete is a light gray fluid mixture that poses an immediate hazard to eye tissue.
Exposure of sufficient duration to wet concrete can cause serious, potentially irreversible
tissue (skin or eye) destruction in the form of chemical (caustic) burns, including third
degree burns.

A person can work with wet cement on the skin for hours without feeling any discomfort.
But the alkaline burn of the cement is damaging the skin microscopically. That damage
may be just a cement burn or it also may be the cumulative injury that leads to irritant or
allergic dermatitis.

There should be no need to handle or even touch the dry or wet concrete when building
the filter. However, there are precautions that should be taken.
1. Wear gloves
2. Wash with clean running water and pH-neutral soap.
3. Remove hand jewellery.
4. Long sleeves should be buttoned and placed inside gloves.
5. Never let cement remain on skin or clothes.
6. Wear safety glasses to protect eyes.
7. See a doctor for any persistent skin problem.

To learn more about safe handling of cement and concrete, please check these web sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/elcosh/docs/hazard/chemical_cement.html (Apr 05)
http://www.lehighinland.com/NR/rdonlyres/61D17AB6-905F-4E93-B554-
A4DC553A5BDF/0/ConcreteMSDS1.pdf (Apr 05)

Bleach
Bleach is produced by reacting chlorine into a dilute sodium hydroxide solution. Bleach
is used for whitening paper, soap, straw and cotton, and for disinfection, water
purification and in sanitary cleaners. It is available in various forms and in varying
concentrations. For example laundry bleach is about 5-6 % available chlorine whereas
pool chlorine is 12 % available chlorine.

AVOID EYE & SKIN CONTACT & INHALATION OF VAPOR OR MIST

Skin Contact - may cause irritation unless rinsed immediately
Eye Contact - may cause inflammation of mucous membranes in throat, nose and lungs

First Aid
Skin Contact - remove from area and flush with large amounts of water. Remove
contaminated clothing and wash before reuse.
Eye Contact - flush with water for at least 15 minutes lifting upper and lower lids
occasionally. Get medical attention

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Module 2.2 Filter Construction

These are two web sites that have MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for bleach.
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~jsmith/MSDS/CLOROX%20LIQUID%20BLEACH.htm (Apr 05)
http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf/hcs_msds/cloroxbleach.pdf (Apr 05)

Tools
While all of the tools used to construct the filter are small hand tools, they still have a
potential to cause injury. Storing and using the tools correctly is the best way to prevent
injuries. Use caution with sharp tools (saws, tin snips and knives) to prevent cuts. Sharp
edges of metal sheets can also cause cuts. Be aware of smashing and crushing injuries to
hands when using hammers and wrenches.

Housekeeping
Building the filter can be a messy job! Encourage the workers to clean up the work place
frequently and continuously. If the site is always kept clean, there will never be a need
for a big clean up job at the end of the day or week. Replace tools back in the storage
place or tool box. Wipe up spills of water, concrete and oil as soon as they occur. A
slippery floor can result in a nasty fall. Clean tools as soon as practical once they have
been used. Large amounts of dried concrete on a shovel can make it useless. Keep lab
and water testing areas extremely clean.

Injuries
Accidents may result in injuries due to several causes. Cuts and bruises to fingers or
hands may occur when using the hand tools. Crushed or pinched fingers may happen
when handling the mold, wheel barrows, shovel and heavy tools. Burns from cement,
concrete or bleach may result from poor practices. Strained muscles in the back,
shoulders and arms may occur from lifting, bending or shovelling too much sand or
concrete. Use extreme caution when moving or handling the filter mold or finished
concrete filter.

The best protection against injuries is to prevent them in the first place. Wear appropriate
clothing. Use correct procedures. Keep the work place clean.

Water Samples
Contaminated water samples may contain high amount of bacteria which could be
potential hazardous to your health. Disinfect work areas frequently. Dispose of water
samples appropriately. Place used membrane filter papers in a bleach solution and then
dispose in an appropriate garbage container.

First Aid Kit

The work place should have a first aid kit available at all time. As a minimum, this
should be stocked with band aids and disinfectant materials.

Medical assistance contact numbers should be readily available. In most North American
locations, the emergency phone number is 9-1-1.

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Module 2.2 Filter Construction

Current Mold Design

The Version 9.0 filter design was introduced for several reasons, including feedback from
our clients who wanted a lighter filter. This mold is lighter than previous versions because
less steel is used, reducing material costs. The back and side walls of the exterior mold
are welded together rather than bolted, since many users were not undoing those bolts
anyway.

The resulting filter has much thinner walls and base, reducing the amount of materials
used. The outcome is a reduction in the weight of the finished filter (160 Lbs as opposed
to 330 Lbs), and importantly, a reduction in the cost per unit of produced filters, making
them more affordable for poor families and making filter construction micro enterprises
more profitable. A different concrete mixture is used for these small filters than for the
previous design, to increase the strength of the thinner walls. Also, PVC pipe cannot be
used for the standpipe as the fittings are too wide to fit inside the wall. Thus, bent copper
or plastic tubing is used for the standpipe.

The steel mold that is used for the BioSand filter is designed to produce a good final
product, while being easy to use. The filter has gone through eight generations of
improvements, but there may still be revisions that would add value. With good care and
maintenance, this mold should be suitable for several years of filter construction.

Filter Tool Kit

A good set of tools is needed to easily and properly construct a BioSand filter. These
are all hand tools and, if maintained and handled properly, will provide many years of
useful life.

Tools
The following tools are needed for constructing the sand sieves, lids and diffusers:
• Nails – 1 and 2 inch coated - used to build sieve sets, diffuser and lid
• Sand Paper – to clean up rough edges of wood
• Tape measure – for measuring things!
• T-square – to lay out square lines when cutting the wood
• Hand saw – for cutting wood pieces – sieves, lid, diffuser
• Hammer – for nailing the wood together
• Tin snips – to cut the galvanized metal for the diffuser
• Utility knife – to cut plastic cardboard diffuser
• Acrylic cutter knife – to cut acrylic plastic if used for diffuser (Power saw may be
used if available)
• Staples – optional – for attaching screen to the sieve frames
• Wire – optional – to hold screen or other things together

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Module 2.2 Filter Construction

• Hand drill and bits – optional – for drilling starter holes if the wood is susceptible
to cracking, to drill holes for handles on the sieves
• Flat headed screw driver – optional - to fix your truck

The following tools are needed for constructing the concrete filter:
• Wire Brush and scraper - used for cleaning up the steel filter mold
• Sand paper – used for cleaning up the steel filter mold.
• 3 inch paint brush (optional) - for applying oil to steel filter – rags may be used
instead
• Paint brush for painting the completed filter if desired
• Hack saw with spare blades – for cutting copper pipe
• Tubing / Pipe cutters - to cut 3/8 “ copper tubing
• 3/8” tubing bender – specialized tool for bending copper pipe
• Trowel (optional) – to level the concrete on the top of the mold, a small piece of
wood can be used instead
• Two – 9/16 inch open/box end wrenches – to tighten/loosen bolts holding the
filter mold together (a 9/16 inch socket set may also be used).
• Level – to ensure that the mold is level before you pour the concrete
• Rubber hammer – to beat on the side of the mold when the concrete is settling
(get out the air bubbles) and when preparing to take the mold off once the
concrete has cured1 ½ inch open/box end wrench – use with puller assembly to
remove inner mold from the filter
• Tool Box – to hold everything! This could be a commercially fabricated metal
box or it could be a hand made, wooden box or alternative.

Supplemental items
• Coarse bristle brush – to clean up the filter mold
• 1” scraper – to clean up filter mold
• Small Bucket or container - to hold studs and nuts from filter mold
• 4 foot (2” diameter) hollow steel pipe – to user as a “cheater” on the 1 ½ inch
wrench when taking apart the mold
• A 1 litre measurement container – small plastic container marked at one litre
volume
• 4-6 pails for washing sand, carrying gravel, cement, water
• Wheel barrow – hauling sand, mixing cement
• Shovels – handling sand and cement
• Rubber gloves – for washing gravel, handling concrete
• Leather gloves – for handling sheet metal, general labour (for those with soft
office hands!)

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Module 2.2 Filter Construction

Material List for Concrete Filter Training

Tool Kit
Item Description Quantity Approximate
for one Cost $ CDN
group
1 1 ½” combination wrench 1 40
2 9/16” combination wrenches or socket set 2 12
3 6” slip joint pliers (optional) 1 6
4 Hack saw with blades 1 25
5 Utility knife 1 9
6 Tubing bender 1 15
7 Tubing / pipe cutter 1 8
8 Wire brush 1 3
9 Measuring tape 1 6
10 Hand saw 1 18
11 Masonry trowel (optional) 1 8
12 2” paint brush (optional) 1 4
13 Hand level (optional) 1 9
14 T square 1 8
15 Fine sand paper - package 1 3
16 Rubber mallet 1 12
17 Claw hammer 1 14
18 2” galvanized nails – package 1 4
19 1” galvanized nails – package 1 3
20 Tool box 1 24
21 Shovels 2 15
22 Pails – 20 liter 4 16
23 Measuring container (1 liter pop bottle) 1 2
24 Water hose (25 ft) 1 12
25 Plastic sheeting or tarps 1 12
26 Rags, paper towels 5 3
27 Black marker / pencils 1 2
28 1” scraper 1 4
29 Rubber gloves – pairs 2 10
30 Wheel barrow 1 75
31 Bleach – household, 1 litre bottle 1 4

Media Sieves – for 3 sieves

Lumber 1” x 4” (or 3”) x 8’ 3 pieces $9
Lumber 1” x 1” x 8’ strapping 3 pieces 7
2x2 hardware cloth (2 squares per inch-each direction) 8 ft2 2
Comes in rolls either 24” or 36”
4x4 hardware cloth (4 squares per inch, each direction) 4 ft2 2
Comes in rolls either 24” or 36”
Metal mosquito screening – 14 or 15 gauge – 14 wires 4 ft2 2
per inch- comes in 24” or 36” widths

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Module 2.2 Filter Construction

Concrete Filter
Portland cement 1 - 40 kg bag $8
Sand for concrete 1 ft3
Gravel for concrete (screened to ¼”) 1 ft3
3/8 ” copper tubing 3 ft 4
Vegetable oil 500 ml 2

Filter Media
Crushed rock and sand – ½” minus – construction grade, 1/2 cubic $10
mixed material, include fines, unwashed - this material yard
is also used for the concrete sand/gravel

Filter Lids and Diffuser Basins

Galvanized sheet metal – 24 gauge 12” minimum width 4 ft2 $3
OR 1 sheet plastic cardboard (4’ x 8’ - makes 32
diffusers) 12
OR 1 Sheet plexiglass or stiff plastic 24” x 48” (makes 24
8 diffusers)

Appendices
Appendix C: Steel Mold Drawings

Appendix D: Steel Mold Fabrication Instructions

Appendix E: Sieve Set Construction Manual

Appendix F: Media Preparation Manual

Appendix G: Concrete Filter Construction Manual

Appendix H: Diffusers and Lids Manual

Appendix I: Installation Operation & Maintenance Manual

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