TIKAL Filtration System

TIKAL is a disaster resilient water filtration system catering to situational or permanent electricity insecurity and immobility.

TIKAL is a three-piece detachable system that is capable of filtering a variety of contaminants using low environmental impact materials. TIKAL is designed to be completely biodegradable and recyclable at the end of product life. We expect the device to need one interior filter replacement annually, keeping maintenance cost low. Using an internal power generator that doesn't require centralized electricity, the filtration system is designed for disaster resiliency. A combination of solar, wind, and thermal energy is harnessed in a detachable lotus like cap. Other features include a compact transportable design, straightforward assembly and maintenance, and being climate-proof. The system works by having the user fill the detachable container (or connect a water source through a tube) to the device. The device will use self-generated energy to filter the water in less than 30 minutes to provide a liter of clean drinking water. Ideally, the device will be run constantly to have continuous access. TIKAL focuses on turning sewage flooding and contaminated surface water to be safe for consumption. This in return increases sanitation and health standards in homes and communities. 

According to the United Nations, at least 2 billion people globally obtain their drinking water from a source contaminated with feces. Half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas by 2025. In the least developed countries, 22% of health care facilities don’t have access to basic water services, 21% lack sanitation services, and 22% go without effective waste management systems. In addition, natural disasters have been steadily increasing annually, resulting in detrimental effects on infrastructure and stagnant systems. By 2050, the number of people at risk for floods will increase from 1.2 billion to 1.6 billion. This is in parallel to the 3.2 billion people that will be living in severely water-scarce areas by that time. Within the US, over 15 million households source their drinking water from private wells not covered by the United States EPA according to the CDC. These water sources can be contaminated by naturally occurring chemicals, local land-use practices, malfunctioning wastewater treatment systems, and other external and internal sources. Those who are immunocompromised, elderly, or pregnant may even experience death. Current commercial filters, such as Brita, fail to filter out contaminants that become more evident in disaster situations. Hence, there is an evident need presented for decentralized day-to-day water filtration systems that are transportable, disaster-resilient, self-contained, and efficient enough to filter out the most harmful contaminants.

Our target population is lower to middle-class families in water unstable areas within the US and its associated territories, while our early adoption process targets NGOs and governmental pathways. Eventually, our team will expand our customer segment to international areas with contaminated surface water and electricity scarcity, such as Myanmar and Bangladesh. Compared to developing countries like Ethiopia, Uganda, and Somalia, the US has the most trusted and safe drinking water. However, the US and its associated territories who have previously experienced a water crisis may forever face a distrust toward their tap water and the government. Although there are companies who make water filtration devices for the purpose of emergency relief, the public generally turns to bottled water when a disaster strikes due to outdated emergency guidelines. However, as we’ve seen from Hurricane Maria and the Flint water crisis, there is an inefficiency in distributing bottled water to the public, it is ecologically detrimental to the planet, the process is not cost effective, and it’s not a long-term solution. This highlights the overarching issue surrounding disaster resilience awareness amongst civilians and the failure of local governments to prepare its residents for increased disasters within the upcoming decade. TIKAL addresses this challenge by promoting disaster resilient equipment for daily use. Rather than waiting for a disaster to hit, communities of people will already be equipped for a disaster with a product that they trust and use everyday.

Our team is currently in contact with potential users in Honolulu, Hawaii and Flint, Michigan. Hawaii and similar Pacific communities have an incentive for disaster relief approaches that eliminates shipments to the islands, along with the advantage of reducing waste. Our team has been in contact with the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Committee of Hawaii’s Chairwoman Linda Ichiyama and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s Executive Officer David Lopez, in order to combat the discrepancies in their current supply chain and sustainability solutions. As for Flint, Michigan, our team has been in contact with Genesee County Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director Thomas Hutchison and Freshwater Future’s Executive Director Jill Ryan to obtain interviews with residents who were directly impacted by the Flint water crisis and to expand our research in how our team can offer water solutions that strengthen communities like the ones these organizations are trying to rebuild.

In addition, we also frequently meet with Josh Goralski, the founder and CEO of Unlocking Communities, to get first-hand knowledge of creating water filtration devices in developing countries. Furthermore, due to the interest in our device, we will be launching our pilot in Honolulu, Hawaii and Flint, Michigan within the next 12 to 16 months.

Our team has currently developed a proof-of-concept and are working on MVP prototyping. We are conducting customer discovery sessions with government representatives and NGOs to pinpoint discrepancies in current solutions and determine the exact need that is not being met. These customers focus on disaster preparedness and relief in areas that have previously dealt with a water crisis or are actively recovering from a water crisis. We are currently focusing on finalizing a two-part revenue model. One that sells directly to our users, while the other focuses on our governmental and NGO customer base.

In addition, we are also in the process of implementing another novel component to the design, an oyster inspired biomimicry component that streamlines TDS and nitrate removal in a lower-energy method.

The two main components of the TIKAL system are the renewable energy generator and the water filter. The energy generator harnesses solar, wind, and thermal energy on the go. The design opens up similar to a lotus, which exposes different layers of mechanical functions, making it manually customizable to your environment without hassle. The structure will eventually use machine learning to remove the need for interaction, allowing the device to make self-adjustments in order to harness energy more efficiently. We are the only product on the market that allows for the usage of multiple energy sources simultaneously or selectively, increasing the range of situations where our users can use the device. Furthermore, even though the ideal usage is to open it up like a lotus flower, it can be customized due to its origami-like design which allows for high spatial adaptability. It can also act as a multi-usage device, being used as a lamp or a portable battery. That type of range is not provided by competitors. 

The second component, the filter system, is a multilayer design that is 100% biodegradable upon proper disposal. This design uses a novel oyster-based biomimicry concept to remove TDS and nitrates from water in a more energy and cost efficient manner. Majority of the filter components use an array of ancient eastern filtering methodology to minimize waste and keep the system self-sustainable. 

Our solution is currently pre-launch and in the prototyping stage, but within the next year we hope to serve at least five community centers, churches, or recreational areas either within Flint, Michigan or Honolulu, Hawaii. This is estimated to effect 300-400 people directly.

Our team currently has four impact goals that our business is modeled upon. Firstly, stimulating local economies. We plan to achieve this goal by using materials that can be found locally in most countries and following a scalable lean manufacturing structure, which will eliminate production and manufacturing overseas. In the process, we hope to create more educational and work opportunities for low-income women in engineering and business, especially in the future when we expand our customer segment to international areas, like Myanmar and Bangladesh. Secondly, ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. This goal will be achieved through our TIKAL device that has an internal power generator that uses decentralized electricity. Thirdly, ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation. Again, we plan to achieve this goal through our TIKAL device and the three levels of contaminant filtration that it offers for sewage flooding or contaminated surface water. Finally, our last impact goal is ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages. Our team plans on achieving this goal through our device’s filtration levels and biomimicry component in order to decrease the 2 billion people who are consuming contaminated water globally.

In order to measure progress for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, we plan on using Indicator 7.1.1 from the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This indicator being the proportion of populations with access to electricity. Once we expand to international areas with electricity scarcity, this indicator will align more with our goals. However, for now we will look at a proportion of the population in Hawaii and Michigan that didn’t have a decentralized, transportable water filtration system. For ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, we will be using Indicator 6.1.1, which is a proportion of populations using safely managed drinking water. To be more specific for the development stage we are currently at, we will be looking at a proportion of the population that didn’t have disaster resilient filtration methods. Measuring progress for ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages will be through Indicator 3.9.2. Our team will consistently regulate the mortality rates attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation, and lack of hygiene. In addition, our team will measure the progress of stimulating local economies by monitoring the number of employees from disenfranchised or unconventional backgrounds and participating in the involvement of local manufacturing and supply lines.

The main barriers that may limit our impact in the next year can be divided into three categories: funding for research and development efforts, resources for small scale manufacturing, and funding for early market integration efforts. In terms of R&D, funding would be needed to support completing the minimal viable product and associated prototype testing. For pilot manufacturing requirements, the team would need access to a hardware lab and testing facilities. We plan to access mHUB’s facility in Chicago to meet these needs. Finally, for market integration efforts, we have an array of pilot interest around different areas of the United States which requires funding for travel, material transport, storage, and other associated costs. In addition, we may need to conduct repairs, outsource some manufacturing needs, purchase material, file patents, pay legal fees, etc., throughout each stage of the three-part process. 

Tayyaba is a biophysics major, with a minor in computer science, with an extensive startup background running and consulting companies within the defense, biotech, and energy sectors. Furthermore, she was a two-time speaker at MIT’s BioSummit, selected for the MassChallenge and iVenture accelerators, winner of the Female Founders' Pitch Competition held by North Central College Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, previous Future Founders resident and grant winner, multi-award winner at Northwestern’s and Depaul’s hackathons, CEO global pitch competition semi-finalist, two-time finalist for Maurice Innovation Award, TechStars Startup Weekend winner, Chicago’s SmartCities Conference presenter, and 2019 Texas Life Science/Biotech Forum presenter.

Megan is an entrepreneurship major, with a minor in business management. She has experience in technology consulting services and fundraising for startups and non-governmental organizations. In 2020 to 2021, she developed and managed Microsoft Power Apps, created CRM training materials and implementation plans, translated client discovery sessions to process maps, and documented professional service ERP systems for Accelerated Growth, Bunker Labs, and associated clients. In 2018, she also executed fundraising events for the American Cancer Society of Hawaii and Ho’ola Na Pua, raising over $20,000.

Kasandra is a biology major, with a minor in mathematics. She has been studying ecological systems, organic chemistry, and biochemistry. She has been studying for the MCAT and plans on attending medical school in 2023.

Our team is currently working with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Committee of Hawaii, Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, Freshwater Future, and Unlocking Communities in a disaster relief research partnership and pilot project.

As a female minority leadership team, one of our impact goals is to stimulate local economies by creating more educational and work opportunities for women in engineering and business. The Pozen Social Innovation Prize would help our team advance our solution by allowing us to expand our team and create these opportunities of work for women who are willing to learn and make an impact in bringing clean, reliable, eco-friendly drinking water solutions.