PFO |
Portable Forward Osmosis water filter
2015.9 - 2016.1 // Time
Material Selection - Penn State U // Course
Group tech research + solo design // Contributions
Portable Forward Osmosis (PFO) is a non-industrial size water filter that requires less energy than most current water purification systems, reverse osmosis. So it provides access to clean drinking water in energy critical areas.
OVERVIEW
Background
Feasibility
Concept
Reflection & More
This product was based on a project derived from a course called Material Selection from the curriculum of Material Science and Engineering (PSU)
The team leader, Nanqi Bao (now a Ph.D.) proposed this interesting concept of utilizing forward osmosis for commercial use. The benefits of the concept can be extended to solve water sanitization in energy-deprived areas.
As it was only intended to let us experience the process of initiating a material-driven project, the research on the feasibility and material choices were not extensive enough for a “proof of concept”, but such information was sufficient for an innovative product proposal that has a social impact.
Later, I decided to transform this technical proposal to a product design during my application for TU Delft in 2015 Fall. Instead of using common industrial design software, such as Rhinoceros or Solidworks, I ended up teaching myself Blender (a free animation software) to model and render this concept. It was a rough yet memorable period of time, managing the application without guidance. That’s why I intended to keep these not-too-bad visuals.
Other contributors:
N.Bao, E.Cimino, B.Jung [technical proposal, 2014/1 - 2014/5]
Relevant organizations: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Penn State
