Assessment of Ceramic Water Filters for the Removal of Bacterial, Chemical, and Viral Contaminants

Pierre-Marie Nigay (1) , A. Salifu (1) , J. Obayemi (1) , Claire E. White (2) , Ange Nzihou (3) , Winston O. Soboyejo (1)

1 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
2 Princeton University
3 RAPSODEE - Centre de recherche d'Albi en génie des procédés des solides divisés, de l'énergie et de l'environnement

In this study, a comprehensive assessment of doped ceramic water filters (doping with hydroxyapatite and alumina) was conducted for potential application in household water treatment. The efficiency/reliability was assessed via statistical data analysis and normal distributions. It was found that the doped ceramic water filters had high porosity (63.25%±0.31% by volume) and a substantial flow rate (14.76±1.43L·h−1). The removal of bacterial contaminants [i.e., log reduction value (LRV)] was also found to be associated with the percentage of porosity. Hence, the doped filters were both efficient and reliable in removing bacterial contaminants (LRV of 4.69±0.19). The removal of chemical/viral contaminants was related to the doping with hydroxyapatite and alumina. Due to kinetics, the removal of viral contaminants also depended on the flow rate of the doped ceramic water filters. This resulted in high efficiency in the removal of viral contaminants (LRV of 3.47±0.35) and high reliability in the removal of chemical contaminants (LRV of 2.26±0.07). The current results suggest that the doped filters are suitable materials for application in household water treatment.

Keywords: Author keywords: Bacteria; Ceramic water filters; Chemicals; Household water treatment; Viruses

Domains: Engineering Sciences [physics]

Pierre-Marie Nigay, A. Salifu, J. Obayemi, Claire E. White, Ange Nzihou, et al.. Assessment of Ceramic Water Filters for the Removal of Bacterial, Chemical, and Viral Contaminants. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2020, 146 (7), pp.04020066. ⟨10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001749⟩. ⟨hal-02572064⟩