TY - JOUR
T1 - Drinking water treatment by multistage filtration on a household scale: Efficiency and challenges
AU - medeiros, R.C.
AU - Fava, N. de M. N.
AU - Freitas, B.L.S.
AU - Sabogal-Paz, Lyda P
AU - Hoffmann, M. T.
AU - Davis, James
AU - Fernandez-Ibanez, Pilar
AU - Byrne, John
PY - 2020/7/1
Y1 - 2020/7/1
N2 - Universalising actions aimed at water supply in rural communities and indigenous populations must focus on simple and low-cost technologies adapted to the local context. In this setting, this research studied the dynamic gravel filter (DGF) as a pre-treatment to household slow-sand filters (HSSFs), which is the first description of a household multistage filtration scale to treat drinking water. DGFs (with and without a non-woven blanket on top of the gravel layer) followed by HSSFs were tested. DGFs operated with a filtration rate of 3.21 m3 m−2.d−1 and HSSFs with 1.52 m3 m−2.d−1. Influent water contained kaolinite, humic acid and suspension of coliforms and protozoa. Physical-chemical parameters were evaluated, as well as Escherichia coli, Giardia spp. cysts and Cryptosporidium spp. oocyst reductions. Removal was low (up to 6.6%) concerning true colour, total organic carbon and absorbance (λ = 254 nm). Nevertheless, HMSFs showed turbidity decrease above 60%, E. coli reduction up to 1.78 log, Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts reductions up to 3.15 log and 2.24 log, respectively. The non-woven blanket was shown as an important physical barrier to remove solids, E. coli and protozoa.
AB - Universalising actions aimed at water supply in rural communities and indigenous populations must focus on simple and low-cost technologies adapted to the local context. In this setting, this research studied the dynamic gravel filter (DGF) as a pre-treatment to household slow-sand filters (HSSFs), which is the first description of a household multistage filtration scale to treat drinking water. DGFs (with and without a non-woven blanket on top of the gravel layer) followed by HSSFs were tested. DGFs operated with a filtration rate of 3.21 m3 m−2.d−1 and HSSFs with 1.52 m3 m−2.d−1. Influent water contained kaolinite, humic acid and suspension of coliforms and protozoa. Physical-chemical parameters were evaluated, as well as Escherichia coli, Giardia spp. cysts and Cryptosporidium spp. oocyst reductions. Removal was low (up to 6.6%) concerning true colour, total organic carbon and absorbance (λ = 254 nm). Nevertheless, HMSFs showed turbidity decrease above 60%, E. coli reduction up to 1.78 log, Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts reductions up to 3.15 log and 2.24 log, respectively. The non-woven blanket was shown as an important physical barrier to remove solids, E. coli and protozoa.
KW - Drinking water
KW - Escherichia coli.
KW - Low-cost technology
KW - Protozoa
KW - Slow sand filtration
UR - https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/en/publications/drinking-water-treatment-by-multistage-filtration-on-a-household-
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083725581&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115816
DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115816
M3 - Article
C2 - 32353612
SN - 0043-1354
VL - 178
SP - 1
EP - 13
JO - Water Research
JF - Water Research
IS - n/a
M1 - 115816
ER -