Company taps Ohio State engineering students to design next-gen stormwater filter
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Water Quality Solutions, a Columbus-based startup, teamed with engineering students from The Ohio State University to create a practical and cost-effective next-generation stormwater filtration system that meets Clean Water Act requirements for local roadway and highway stormwater.
The need for a viable solution to filter pollutants from roadway stormwater arose after the Ohio Environment Protection Agency recently disapproved and banned the current system of sand-filled exfiltration trenches used statewide.
Nelson Kohman, president of Water Quality Solutions, had a concept for a solution in mind, but sought out Ohio State’s College of Engineering for help designing and creating the final product.
With funding from Water Quality Solutions, senior engineering students in the college’s Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Program spent two years designing, building and testing pre-production prototypes of the new stormwater filter system.
The end result is a cost-effective, low-maintenance device that can be installed in existing standard catch basins and meets current EPA filtration requirements. The flexible design can be adjusted to account for diverse soil compositions nationwide or to meet expected potentially more stringent future filtration requirements.
“Working with Ohio State students was energizing,” said Kohman. “Their enthusiasm and my experience combined to form a fruitful partnership. I look forward to working with another team on the next project.”
Manufactured and assembled in Ohio from recycled plastic and Ohio-made components, the new patent-pending stormwater filtration system features reusable filter elements that are expected to last for 20 years or more. The device generally requires only a simple backwashing process once per year before being ready for reuse. Each filtration module is capable of handling the equivalent of eight or more two-year storm events and accumulating up to 150 pounds of filtered material before needing replacement with a clean unit.
“This is a perfect example of how our Multidisciplinary Engineering Capstone Design Program benefits both industry and our students,” said Peter Rogers, a clinical professor in the college’s Engineering Education and Innovation Center who advised the engineering students. “Our industry partners get cost-effective product design help to solve a very specific problem, while our students develop their engineering skills and have the satisfaction of making a real impact.”
In cooperation with state and local agencies, Water Quality Solutions will install up to 40 field units in central Ohio this spring for final validation testing. A successful proof of principal design was completed on Ohio State’s Waterman Farm in 2011 and the preproduction prototype of the final design was tested in 2013 by at the site of Ohio precast concrete manufacturer E.C. Babbert, Inc. In final testing, the device removed more than the required 80 percent of total suspended solids while accommodating a 200 gallon per minute flow rate, or the equivalent of a two-year frequency storm event.
Nelson Kohman, president of Water Quality Solutions, had a concept for a solution in mind, but sought out Ohio State’s College of Engineering for help designing and creating the final product.
With funding from Water Quality Solutions, senior engineering students in the college’s Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Program spent two years designing, building and testing pre-production prototypes of the new stormwater filter system.
The end result is a cost-effective, low-maintenance device that can be installed in existing standard catch basins and meets current EPA filtration requirements. The flexible design can be adjusted to account for diverse soil compositions nationwide or to meet expected potentially more stringent future filtration requirements.
“Working with Ohio State students was energizing,” said Kohman. “Their enthusiasm and my experience combined to form a fruitful partnership. I look forward to working with another team on the next project.”
“This is a perfect example of how our Multidisciplinary Engineering Capstone Design Program benefits both industry and our students,” said Peter Rogers, a clinical professor in the college’s Engineering Education and Innovation Center who advised the engineering students. “Our industry partners get cost-effective product design help to solve a very specific problem, while our students develop their engineering skills and have the satisfaction of making a real impact.”
In cooperation with state and local agencies, Water Quality Solutions will install up to 40 field units in central Ohio this spring for final validation testing. A successful proof of principal design was completed on Ohio State’s Waterman Farm in 2011 and the preproduction prototype of the final design was tested in 2013 by at the site of Ohio precast concrete manufacturer E.C. Babbert, Inc. In final testing, the device removed more than the required 80 percent of total suspended solids while accommodating a 200 gallon per minute flow rate, or the equivalent of a two-year frequency storm event.
The device has earned positive attention from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, as well as interest from the Franklin County Engineer’s Office. ODOT and Franklin County are currently identifying several roadway improvement projects that will include the initial installation of this stormwater filter system.
