An intermittently operated slow sand filter combined with Activated Carbon Fibre (ACF) was investigated for the development of a low cost household drinking water purification system for remote rural areas of developing countries. Two series of field-scale experiments were carried out to evaluate the efficiency of the water treatment system. The experimental unit was an acrylic rectangular tank, 60cm in length, 20cm in width and 70cm in height with five internal compartments. These compartments were designed to maximize the water flowline through the unit. Experimental results showed that a higher degree of water purification was achieved with a combination of ACF and slow sand filtration, than with slow sand filtration alone. Average removal efficiencies obtained from the unit with ACF, for suspended solids, turbidity, iron and faecal coliform, were 75, 72, 89 and 100 % respectively. ACF was found to play an important role in the removals of colour, COD, and Manganese, having average removal efficiencies of 82, 92 and 95 % respectively. In addition, ACF had little effect on the development of head loss in the system.
(0)
(0)