📋 Tender Overview
In order for communities in various rural areas affected by water contamination to have access to a quality resource suitable for human consumption, the Ministry of Production (Produce) promoted the development of the AgroSanidad project, a microenterprise that created a low-cost sand filter system to eliminate pathogens and metals in the liquid element. and that it can be employed by housewives or in a community manner in population centers.
To meet this goal, the company accessed funding from the ProInnóvate Program, which allowed them to validate and implement two devices: the Biosand Filter (FBA) and the Intermittent Slow Sand Filter (FLAI) for home and community use, respectively.
How filters work and their effectiveness
The use of the filters in homes and communities where they have already been implemented demonstrated 100% effectiveness in the elimination of fecal coliforms and 90% effectiveness in reducing arsenic with respect to the limit established by the General Directorate of Environmental Health (DIGESA), thanks to the adsorbent action of iron oxide and hydroxide incorporated in the filters.
In the case of the Biosand Filter used in homes, its productivity reaches 20 liters per day of treated water, while the Intermittent Sand Filter designed for population centers, obtains a capacity of 2,000-5,000 L/day. Both filters used PVC water containers available in the beneficiary communities.
Currently, this water purification system has been adopted by the families of the Los Girasoles Community and Los Frutales Housing Association in the Lima district of Lurigancho-Chosica, offering an affordable solution adapted to the needs of these communities, thus improving access to safe and potable water.
Projections from the team of innovators
The research carried out by the project team suggests a viable alternative to improve access to safe water in Peru, with the potential to benefit 1,275,000 people in rural areas, taking into account the importance of sustainable, affordable and low-cost solutions to address water challenges in small population centers and families in dispersed populations.
It should be noted that in 2022, the AgroSanidad project was one of the accessory to the initiative "Fostering International Partnerships between Companies and/or Institutions operating in the Energy and Environment Sectors" (#FIPEE), implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) - ITPO Italy, and is funded by the Italian Ministry for Ecological Transition, in order to support the commercialization and scale-up of sustainable energy and environmental technologies and projects in MSMEs and start-ups.
Financing of ProInnóvate
The AgroSanidad project obtained funding from ProInnóvate, through the Innovation Contest for Microenterprises, which seeks to contribute to the strengthening of capacities for innovation in companies, through the development of new or substantially improved products (goods or services) or processes (or a combination of both) that respond to a market need or opportunity.
