Long-term evaluation of the performance of four point-of-use water filters.
Despite technological advances water supply quality and poor access to safe water remain a major problem in developing countries, especially in rural areas. Point-of-use (POU) water treatment has been shown to be a viable option to produce safe drinking water quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate, under laboratory conditions over 14 months, the performance of four household filtration systems: membrane filter (MF), one-candle ceramic filter (1CCF), two-candle ceramic filter (2CCF) and pot ceramic filter (PCF). The evaluation was made using spiked water having the required concentrations of turbidity, Escherichia coli and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The results show that all systems have high removal efficiencies for turbidity (98-99%), and E. coli 4-5 Log Reduction Value (LRV). The poorest efficiency was for TDS (9-18%). The MF and the CCF displayed no significant difference in efficiencies for these parameters. The PCF had less significant differences for turbidity removal than the other systems. The average filtration rate for all systems decreased during the operation time. The CPF showed the major potential to be used in rural communities mainly for its low operational level and maintenance requirements as well as its local craftsmanship. It was observed that the efficiency of the systems is highly sensitive to cleaning and maintenance activities and therefore, the system sustainability will depend considerably on the training and education of the potential users.
Universidad Santiago de Cali, Faculty of Engineering, GIEIAM Research Group, Street 5 # 62-00, Cali, Colombia. Electronic address: andrea.perez00@usc.edu.co.
Andrea
A
Pérez-Vidal
Universidad de Boyacá, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Research Group of Management of Water Resources, Carrera 2E # 64-169, Tunja, Colombia. Electronic address: jaimediaz@uniboyaca.edu.co.
Jaime
J
Diaz-Gómez
Universidad de Boyacá, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Research Group of Management of Water Resources, Carrera 2E # 64-169, Tunja, Colombia. Electronic address: joscastellanos@uniboyaca.edu.co.
Jose
J
Castellanos-Rozo
Universidad de Boyacá, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Research Group of Environmental Management, Carrera 2E # 64-169, Tunja, Colombia. Electronic address: olusaquen@uniboyaca.edu.co.
Olga Lucía
OL
Usaquen-Perilla
D004926:Escherichia coli; D005374:Filtration; D014867:Water; D018508:Water Purification; D060753:Water Quality; D014881:Water Supply
D014867:Water
Ceramic candle filter; Drinking water; Escherichia coli; Membrane filter; Pot ceramic filter; Turbidity