Keywords

Nanofiltration water treatment; water quality monitoring; community ownership; infrastructure; capacity development; improvement in quality of life; commercialization of nanotechnologies

40.1 Introduction

Africa is the most water-stressed continent in the world and it has already been predicted that there will be a water crisis by 2025 on the continent [1]. Two-thirds of its surface area is affected by aridity to some degree [2]. The scarcity of the water will lead to competition for this finite resource which will in turn result in conflict or cooperation among the various stakeholders. The water situation is so bad that only about 60% of Africans have access to safe drinking water [3]. Moreover, 60% of the people in two of Africa’s large cities (Lagos in Nigeria and Nairobi in Kenya) have no running water. The scarcity of water in the continent can be attributed to, among other factors, desert encroachment, recurrent drought, and high population growth. South Africa is confronted with similar problems, namely water quantity and also quality. The water quantity problem is a direct result of accelerated population growth, industrialization, and the consequent urbanization. The net effect is an ever-increasing demand for treated water. The effluent from the treatment of municipal, industrial, and mine wastewater is discharged into raw water sources, for instance, rivers and dams. The quality of the raw water deteriorates progressively and this impacts negatively on the quality of the treated water. The need for more treated water can only be met by expanding the existing conventional water treatment works. However, the removal efficiency of some organic pollutants (for instance, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, and solvents) by the conventional water treatment method is not satisfactory. This then necessitates the application of an alternative technology, nanotechnology, to solve the problem [4]. The challenges which are encountered in the implementation of water treatment by nanotechnology will be considered.

40.2 Community involvement or ownership

The implementation of nanotechnology in the improvement of water quality will generally be based on a study that was carried out in South Africa by Hlophe and Venter [5]. The researchers used nanostructured membranes whose pore sizes were less than two nanometers. They tested a nanomembrane technology unit for the removal of nitrate, chloride, fluoride, sulphate, calcium, and magnesium ion pollutants from groundwater, and monitored rural consumer knowledge and attitude to water purification.

The success in the implementation of a nanotechnology water treatment project depends on the attitude that the researchers adopt toward the recipient community. The community members have to be involved in all the stages of the project, i.e., from planning up to the implementation stage [6]. The local government or implementing agency should therefore ensure that the community members are part of the decision-making process since they are the end users or consumers of the service. It was found that when the community members played an active role in the implementation of the nanotechnology, the sustainability of the project was assured. On the contrary, other researchers discovered that where the community members were passive stakeholders, the service delivery was not sustainable [5].

Furthermore, the successful implementation of the application of nanotechnology for the improvement of water requires a change of the mindset or attitude of the community members or consumers toward the new technology. The consumers or end users have to be made aware that nanotechnology is a relatively new technology which has wide-ranging benefits for society. However, they should also be aware that there are concerns with respect to its impact on human health and the environment. This implies that the implementation of nanotechnology for water treatment should be accompanied by a well-designed educational program that will educate and inform the consumers about the operation and maintenance of the technology [6]. Providing the consumers with the necessary knowledge results in the consumers taking ownership of the technology [7]. The implementation of the nanotechnology is a joint effort by various stakeholders (for instance, the consumers, researchers, and engineers) for the realization of a common goal. The constant interaction among the stakeholders in their quest to solve the common problem results in attitude change or transformative learning [6]. The latter leads to the development of a permanent change that would ensure the acceptance of the nanotechnology for a sustainable service delivery.

40.3 Community need for the technology

A community can only accept the implementation of a technology if there is a need for it. Hlophe and Venter [5] successfully implemented a nanomembrane brackish groundwater treatment project in the North West Province of South Africa at Madibogo village (a settlement where there is a very poor infrastructure and very little economic activity). This technology was chosen because of its low cost, and because it is easy to operate and maintain. The province is situated in a semiarid region. The Madibogo village community depends solely on untreated groundwater for their livelihood. The groundwater is polluted with nitrate, chloride, calcium, and magnesium ion pollutants. Nitrate ion can be reduced to the toxic nitrite ion which causes methaemoglobinemia in infants of 0–6 months. Nitrite ion can react with amino compounds to form nitrosoamines which are strongly carcinogenic [8]. Calcium and magnesium ions cause water hardness and also pose health risks to body organs such as kidneys, liver, and eyes. The chloride ion is corrosive to metal pipes and harmful to agricultural plants. It imparts a salty taste to water above 300 ppm. A stakeholder meeting was convened at which the health and economic implications of the polluted water was discussed. It was agreed that nanomembrane water treatment was the appropriate technology for the treatment of the water source.

Three nanofiltration (NF) membranes (Desal-DL, NF 90, and NF 270) and two reverse osmosis (RO) membranes (BW 30 and S5) were tested for the removal of the pollutants from the brackish groundwater using a cross-flow module water treatment plant. The South African National Standard (SANS-241) for drinking water was used to determine the water quality of both the raw and treated waters and is given in Table 40.1 for the determinants in the study. The SANS-241 Class 1 water quality specifications were used for assessing water quality in the study. The composition of the brackish groundwater (raw water) or feedwater at Madibogo village is given in Table 40.2 and the composition of the water after treatment by or permeation through a nanomembrane (the permeate) is given in Table 40.3.

The results show that the most optimal nanomembrane for the improvement of the water quality at Madibogo village is NF membrane NF 90. The two RO membranes (BW 30 and S5) are not suitable because they essentially remove all the calcium and magnesium cations (nutrients) which are required for the normal development and functioning of the human body. The consumers accepted nanotechnology because it addressed their need (Figures 40.1–40.3).

40.4 Community water quality monitoring

The successful implementation of a nanotechnology water purification project can be further enhanced if the community can monitor the quality of their water supply. One of the most important parameters or indicators of water quality is pH. The significance of water pH cannot be overestimated. It affects both animal and plant life. A pH of less than 3 and greater than 11 is generally fatal to aquatic life which finally affects the whole ecosystem. The variation of pH changes water chemistry with disastrous consequences. pH is one of the 11 parameters of the water quality index (WQI) [9]. This index only gives a general picture of the water quality. Water pH is influenced by effluents that are derived from, among other sources, agriculture, mining, and industry. The application of fertilizers and pesticides for agricultural production, the use of chemicals in industry, and mining sectors introduce a range of pollutants into the environment. The fate of the species derived from these inputs has to be monitored to ensure that the environment continues to support the ecosystem. The monitoring program for this diverse range of pollutants is obviously very expensive as it has to be conducted in well-equipped, specialized laboratories manned by skilled personnel.

Nanotechnology was investigated for the development of a cheap and affordable optical pH nanosensor for the monitoring of water quality. An organic conducting polymer (OCP), polyaniline (PANI), was selected for the study. The advantages of a PANI sensor include ease of preparation, high conductivity, and stability [10,11]. The feature which makes it particularly suitable for the detection of pH is its reversible color change. PANI is dark green in acidic solution (emeraldine salt) and dark blue in basic solution (emeraldine base). A PANI pH nanosensor is reusable as opposed to comparable methods such as a universal indicator and pH papers and has a life span of approximately 5 months [11].

40.5 Infrastructure

The success of technology transfer or implementation of any technology, nanotechnology in this case, depends on the availability of the collateral infrastructure. The infrastructural requirements can be diverse depending on the location where the technology is required. Some factors that should be considered when the implementation will be carried out in remote rural areas (in developing countries) where potable water is required could include such rudimentary basics as electricity and accessibility. A significant part of rural Africa does not have grid electricity and there are no alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. The fact that most of the advanced technologies (for instance, nanotechnology) are developed in the developed countries assumes that they will mostly be operated on electricity. This alone severely limits the choice of technologies that can be utilized. The approach and the choice of technology strongly depend on the energy infrastructure that is locally available.

Technology transfer can only take place if the necessary equipment is available and for which technical support is required. The equipment is invariably sophisticated and costly, and can only be operated and maintained by highly skilled scientists, technicians, and engineers. The technical support in the water treatment project that was conducted by Hlophe and Venter [5] was provided by the research group from North-West University. The research group consisted of three chemists and a chemical engineer (professors), engineering technician, and three master’s students. The technical staff (the professors and the engineering technician) were responsible for teaching the students and community members the operation and maintenance of the nanotechnology water treatment pilot plant. In fact, two community members, a teacher and a security guard at the school, were trained in the operation and maintenance of the nanotechnology water treatment pilot plant.

Finally, collateral on communications has to be considered for the successful implementation and adoption of a nanotechnology for improving water quality. Collateral communications is through established rural authorities, community societies, schools, and churches. The rural authority (the chief and his councilors) serves as the gatekeeper through whom the researcher is introduced to the community [6]. The protocol is thus to first obtain permission from the chief to hold meetings in his community. The information is then disseminated to the different sectors or forums of the community. These forums form lines of communication and are critical in informing the community about the proposed solutions to the water quality problem. This collateral communication ensures the buy-in by the community which should be achieved before the project can start in earnest.

40.6 Capacity development

The community at Madibogo village at which the water treatment nanotechnology was implemented has a very low literacy rate. The proportions of people who have secondary and tertiary education are, respectively, 19% and 2% [12]. It was therefore essential to develop capacity for ensuring the sustainability of the nanotechnology.

The students who provided technical support in the operation and maintenance of the nanotechnology water treatment pilot plant at Madibogo village [5] were developed into human capital, water technologists. They were trained in the principles of the nanotechnology for the treatment of brackish groundwater. The different aspects of the water treatment nanotechnology project were allocated to three master’s students to investigate as part of their academic studies. Master’s dissertations of two students were based on the removal of pollutant concentrations of some anions and cations from brackish groundwater. The third master’s dissertation was based on the monitoring of rural consumer knowledge and attitude to water purification. The net result was the empowerment of the three students on the practice or knowledge of a given technology who would then subsequently apply it to solve similar water quality problems.

40.7 Improvements in quality of life

The implementation of the nanotechnology for water quality improvement results in the improvement in the quality of life of the end users with respect to social image, health, and economic issues. Rural communities in general, and the Madibogo community in particular, had some misconceptions about their water source [6]. They thought that the water caused patches on the face and also discolored the hair. The community was aware of the hardness of their water and used to soften it through the addition of paraffin, cement, or foam bath. The results of the implementation of the nanotechnology were that the community was educated about water quality and treatment or purification. The empowerment of the community with this information restored their self-esteem and thus their quality of life improved.

Health-related chemical determinants that are associated with groundwater in the South African provinces of North West and Limpopo are nitrate and fluoride ions. Pollutant concentrations of nitrate ions were readily removed by nanomembrane treatment (Table 40.3). Schoeman and Steyn [13] also used nanomembrane treatment for the removal of excess concentrations of nitrate ions and hardness from groundwater in a rural village in Zava in Limpopo Province (which shares borders with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique). Fluoride ion pollution is very high in groundwater sources around Sun City (the Las Vegas of Africa) in North West Province of South Africa [14]. Fluoride ion concentrations that are greater than 1 ppm cause mottled teeth (“chocolate teeth”) and concentrations that are greater than 4 ppm result in fluorosis [15,16]. Herbert [17] constructed and installed nanomembrane treatment plants at Western and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia for the removal of pollutant concentrations of, mainly, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, fluoride, and nitrate ions from brackish groundwater. South Africa has also experienced several outbreaks of microbial-related pollution in two of its provinces in the past 3 years. Two cholera outbreaks occurred in Mpumalanga Province (at Delmas), one in 2006 and the other in 2007. There has been at least one outbreak of diarrhea in North West Province at Bloemhof. These microbe pollutants can be readily removed by nanomembrane treatment which therefore assures an improved quality of life.

Nanomembrane treatment of brackish groundwater in implementation areas decreases costs that are caused by polluted water or water of poor quality. The water has to be boiled if it has to be used for drinking and for taking medicine for disinfection purposes. This contributes in increasing the energy bill for the economically challenged communities. Additives such as chlorine compounds (for instance, jik) are also used for disinfection of water of poor microbiological quality. The removal of water hardness means that there will be no longer any scale formation on elements of electrical devices such as kettles and geysers and this will lead to a reduction in energy consumption. Furthermore, the addition of extra soap or detergent to compensate for water hardness in laundering is not required when the water quality is good. The untreated water caused clothes to be stained and thus their quality deteriorated and had to be replaced relatively regularly. The hardships which were due to the hard water were readily removed by nanomembrane treatment and this resulted in an improved quality of life for the community.

40.8 Commercialization of nanotechnologies

The commercialization of nanotechnology is a huge problem in Africa and other parts of the developing world as much as it is in the developed world, due to the general issues associated with commercializing new technologies and more especially to the uncertainties linked with nanotechnology. The general issues include the market uptake, differentiation of the solution, and its existing cheap substitutes in the market and intellectual property (IP) positioning. To execute a winning commercialization plan, access to market research data is required, which is not readily available. This data would provide the size of the addressable market, the growth trends, competitive technologies, and potential substitutes of the technology. Technology development requires a local know-how and infrastructure to meet the demands of upscaling to address the available market. There is an obvious lack of these facilities in Africa and other parts of the developing world and it is expensive to outsource this task to foreign countries. Most of the developing countries do not have IP laws to protect the inventors and guard against illegal exploitation of the IP. Investors are very cautious and do not invest in unprotected technologies.

There is also a predicament in finding viable business models to capture value in technologies that are created from local research. The models include IP licensing, establishment of start-ups, and partnership with established companies for joint ventures. These models have key advantages and disadvantages regarding control, financial and collateral resources, and infrastructure [18]. IP licensing is relatively easy to execute if it is a compelling technology as this is usually taken up by reputable companies that have infrastructure and established distribution channels to manufacture, upscale, and dispense the technology. There is a lack of innovation-based enterprises (IBEs) in Africa and other parts of the developing world to take up sophisticated technologies to the market; therefore, commercialization still remains a huge challenge in implementing water-based nanotechnology solutions.

40.9 Conclusions

The successful implementation of a nanotechnology for the improvement of water quality can be achieved by addressing four factors: community involvement, community need, infrastructure, and capacity development. The active participation of the community in all the stages of project implementation results in the community taking ownership of the project. This is very important because it discourages vandalism and ensures the community operates and maintains the nanotechnology water treatment plant. The existence of a problem or need in water quality guarantees that any nanotechnology which has a potential to address the need will be favorably considered. The implementation of nanotechnology for water quality improvement can only become a reality when the necessary infrastructure is available. For example, in the South African case study, power supply, groundwater, equipment and skilled researchers, and technical backup were available. Finally, capacity development is vital for the implementation of nanotechnology for water quality improvement. The buy-in by academia, the custodians of the nanotechnology, is crucial as they transfer or impart it to the community.