Evaluation of an Innovative Sand Filter for Small System Drinking Water Treatment.

摘要

Results of evaluation of an innovative sand filter that uses the concepts of both slow and rapid sand filtration are presented in this article. The system uses a low?cost “Drum Sand Filter” (DSF) that consists of a 55?gallon drum filled with layers of sand of varying size. A low?cost “Drum Flocculator” (DF) and tablet chlorination are incorporated before and after the DSF, respectively, to enhance the filter performance and to provide a final barrier against microbial contamination. The results of the evaluation demonstrated that the DSF with the DF and tablet chlorination is very effective in removing turbidity and the selected microbiological contaminants including Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Total and Fecal Coliform and Polystyrene Latex (PSL) beads, a surrogate for Cryptosporidium. The DF/DSF system evaluated in this work is meant to provide a low?cost system in order to provide basic water treatment for locations where such treatment is not available.