Water 2010, doi:10.3390/w2020285
Improved Filtration Technology for Pathogen Reduction in Rural Water Supplies
Valentine Tellen
Intermittent bio-sand filtration (BSF) is a low-cost process for improving water quality in rural households. This study addresses its two drawbacks:
- flow limitationsrequiring excessive waiting, and
- inadequate purification when high flows are imposed.
Two modifications were examined: increasing the sand’s effective size, and adding zero-valent iron (ZVI) into the media as a disinfectant. After 65 days, percent reductions in total coliform, fecal coliform, and fecal streptococci averaged 98.9% for traditional BSFand 99% for the improved BSF. Both modifications showed statistically significantimprovements. Increased sand size and ZVI addition can counter the drawbacks of traditional BSF.
