Congratulations to ACE4G 2019 Challenge Winners

The AIChE Foundation funds an amazing project called the AIChE Chemical Engineering For Good (ACE4G) Challenge. The organizers behind it are the Global Societal Initiatives Committee with the support of the International Committee, the Student Chapters Committee, and the Sustainable Energy Forum. Below, we announce this year's winners. This annual challenge is open to all U.S. and international AIChE student chapters. To learn more about the program, see the links below.

AIChE Chemical Engineers for Good Challenge (ACE4G)

Global Societal Initiatives Committee

How chemical engineering can be applied to solve world problems on a microscale

For this year’s challenge, the participants submitted technical proposals for an underutilized technology, or toolkits that others might use to select between a set of possible technical solutions. Teams competed for cash prizes ($3,000, $1,500, and $1,000 for the top three teams). There is an additional bonus prize of $500 for the best submission by a collaboration of at least one US AIChE chapter and one international AIChE chapter. 

• 15 teams from around the world competed, including 13 international student chapters from Nigeria, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Istanbul. Teams were provided a tutorial on economic, cultural, and technical sustainability concerns for international projects. The AIChE student chapters were also encouraged to collaborate with other organizations, such as Engineers Without Borders (EWB), that have experience in executing these types of projects, and many did.
• Proposals included a wide range of solutions, including the utilization of reverse osmosis technology; biological wastewater treatment; alternative energy sources and energy efficiency; the design of filtration meshes from natural fibers; nanotechnology for CO₂ absorption; gas waste treatment; the development of an LED UV-C water purification system; microbial fuel cell applications; water purification combined with energy generation; and gas waste treatment.

The winners

1st Place:  Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Medellín in Colombia

 Spirulina Production as a Protein Supplement for the Manaure Area

 Their winning proposal utilizes seawater and fresh water to create a protein supplement from algae for a region of Colombia suffering from malnutrition.

2nd Place: Miami University (Ohio)

Microbial Fuel Cell Applications for Rural Communities in Uganda/Rwanda

Their unique proposal utilized solid waste from latrines to generate modest amounts of electricity through a microbial fuel cell. 

3rd Place: University of Toledo

LED UV-C Water Purification System 

They proposed a practical low-cost means to disinfect drinking water using LED UV light bars.

Bonus prize: San Jose State (California) and Dawood University of Engineering & Technology (Pakistan)

Slow Sand Filter/Ion Exchange/ UV Disinfection/Activated Carbon Adsorption System to Generate Potable Water from Seawater

Our special award for the best submission by a partnership of a US and a non-US chapter goes to the team of San Jose State (California) and Dawood University of Engineering & Technology (Pakistan) for Alternate Water Desalination and Purification. 

Congratulations for your efforts to apply chemical engineering to really make a difference.

Submissions for the ACE4G 2020 Challenge will be accepted in late summer.

For more information contact Alan Zagoria, GSIC, alzagoria@gmail.com