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DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EFFICIENT POTABLE WATER FILTER

Article · November 2018

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JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EFFICIENT POTABLE WATER

FILTER

Aishwarya Mahajan 1, Snehal Magare 2, Shwetali Malunjkar 3, Swati bansode 4,

Ranjana Bandgar 5, Rohini Kakde 6, Ashwini Salunkhe7
Civil Department, DIT, Pune University, MH, India
1
aishwaryamahajan5511@gmail.com, 2snehalmagare01@gmail.com, 3sbmalunjkar@gmail.com, 4swatibansode40@gmail.com,
5
snehalmagare01@gmail.com
6
snehalmagare01@gmail.com, 7rsalunkhee@gmail.com

Abstract

Objectives: To design economical household potable water filter. This model is developed for rural areas where pure
disinfected water is not available. Methodology: Potable water treatment plants are used to remove particles and organisms
that lead to diseases and to protect public’s welfare. Basic processes for purifying water are sedimentation, filtration and
disinfection respectively which are included in the potable water filter. Findings: In this model different coagulants like,
wheat, rice, rai, moringa oleifera seeds, maize etc are tested for sedimentation. The results obtained from tests done before
treating and after treating water through designed water model are very positive. Application: This work upgrades water
treatment process as well as reduce use of energy for treatment. In water treatment model use of inexpensive material results
in economical water filter.

Key Words: Moringa oleifera, Wood charcoal, Sand, Sedimentation, Filtration, Disinfection etc...
--------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------

I. INTRODUCTION
Earth is covered by 75% water, yet one of the worlds greatest issues include lack of drinking water1. Water is useful for
many purposes like drinking, washing, bathing, recreation as well as numerous industrial purposes. Ground water and
surface water are the major raw water sources (>90%)2. World Health Organization WHO (1971), reports that
wholesomeness of water means absence of suspended solids, inorganic solids and pathogens3. Continue stresses on fresh
water supplies necessitate the utilization of non-traditional resource to meet the growing global water demand4. In the
drinking water treatment processes, the optimization of the treatment is an issue of particular concern5. Pollution of surface
and ground water from agriculture, domestic and industrial activities has been regularly monitored and recorded as a
problem. This is due to the lack of monitoring facilities the quality and inaccessibility of drinking water is important aspect
to human health. Drinking water may contain diseases causing agents and toxic chemicals and to control the risk to public
health, systematic water quality monitoring and surveillance are required3. The safety of drinking water is an on-going
concern within the global village. Currently, about 20% of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, and
more than 5 million people die annually from illness associated with safe drinking water or inadequate sanitation.
Approximately 1.1 billion people are brought by lack of access to safe drinking water6. If everyone had safe drinking water
and adequate sanitation services, there would be 200 million fewer cases of diarrhea and 2.1 million fewer deaths caused by
diarrheal illness each year.

A. Selection of coagulant
Sedimentation is tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest
against a barrier. It is the physical water treatment process using gravity to remove suspended solids from water. For
sedimentation test rice, wheat, maize, rai, Moringa oleifera Seeds (in powder form) are selected as coagulant as shown in
Figure 1.

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JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131

Coagulants are added to water and allowed to set for 60 minutes, shown in Figure 2. From observations Moringa oleifera
Seeds gives the best and quick result compared to the others. Therefore M. oleifera is selected as coagulant in Potable
Water Filter. Optimum dosage to treat the water sample is 15 mg/l for M. oleifera. At optimum dose, large reduction of
turbidity is achieved, but above the optimum dose, there is a reduced turbidity removal efficiency of M. oleifera7.

Fig. 1: Sample before Coagulation Fig. 2: Sample After Coagulation

B. Filter Media
For water purification rapid sand filter and slow sand filter are generally used. Rapid filter is also known as rapid gravity type
filter which is generally used in Municipal Corporation for water treatment. Slow sand filters are used for treating raw water to
generate potable product. The materials commonly used are sand, peat and natural stone fiber. Current study uses rapid sand
filtration method. Sieve analysis of sand through different sized sieves is done before using it in filter media, the gradation is
shown in Table 1. Mesh is provided between sand layers to avoid mixing of layers. For filtration sand is used as filter media
which is placed in three layers, while mesh is provided between layers of sand to avoid mixing of the layers.
Table 1: Sand Gradation
Layer Size of passing sieve Size of retained sieve
1 1.18 mm 600 micron
2 1.4 mm 1.18 mm
3 None 1.4 mm

C. Capacity of container
The model is constructed for one family consisting four people. As average intake of drinking water per person should be 5
liters, capacity of container of 20 liters is considered. Sedimentation test is conducted using moringa oleifera, In this test
height of settled sediments about 2.3 cm is observed. Therefore distance of tap about 5 cm from bottom is finalized.

D. Disinfectant
Water disinfection means the removal, deactivation or killing of pathogenic microorganisms. Different materials are used for
disinfection like chlorine, activated carbon, ozone, ultraviolet etc. But most of methods are very costly and need proper
maintenance. A portable, low-power water purification system design included activated carbon for bacteria reduction followed
by UV irradiation for virus destruction8. To maintain economy and as per ease of the rural people, wood charcoal is used as
disinfectant. The activated carbon is achieved by using calcium chloride.

II. METHODOLOGY
A. Model Execution

The basic concept of any water filter is to transfer water through various stages with application of different material to treat the
water. In this model construction the stages are narrowed down to three parts to maintain economy. The three parts are:
Sedimentation, Filtration & Disinfection. For this model three plastic containers were used which are easily available in local
market. The arrangement of containers is shown in figure 3. First container is used for sedimentation process. In second
container filtration is done through filter media. After filtration disinfection process is applied while water is transferring from
second container to third container. This collected water of third container is tested for drinking purpose.

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JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131

Fig. 3: Model of potable water filter

B. Water Treatment Tests
The water samples were immediately subjected to both chemical and microbiological analysis in order to evaluate the quality of
potable water and identify its sources of contamination9. There are no changes in the dissolved mineral concentrations in raw
and filtered water10. The water from third container is tested to find the safety of treated water for drinking purpose. There are
various tests available for water treatment like, conductivity, Ph, Harness TDS, E Coli etc which covers different suitability like,
domestic, potable, agricultural etc.
Tests conducted on water sample are as follows:
 Ph
 Alkalinity
 Hardness
 Chlorides
 Turbidity
By conducting these tests suitability of water sample for drinking purpose is found out.
Ph is a measure of the acidic or basic (alkaline) nature of a solution. The concentration of the hydrogen ion [H+] activity in a
solution determines the pH. Average removal efficiency of Ph of the filter is 8.95%. Alkalinity is primarily due to carbonate,
bicarbonate and hydroxide contents.It is used in the interpretations and control of water and waste water processes. Potable
water filter has 11.49% alkalinity removal efficiency. Hardness is defined as the sum of calcium and magnesium concentrations
and is a measure of the capacity of water to precipitate soap. Hardness Removal efficiency of the filter is 23.06%.Turbidity is a
measure of the degree to which the water loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates.

III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Tests conducted on untreated and treated water samples show that pH is removed in trifling amount while turbidity is removed
in great amount. From Table 2 it is seen that removal of alkalinity, hardness, chloride is considerable. Potable water filter gives
highest removal efficiency for turbidity which is 96.142%. Chlorides are the inorganic compound resulting from the
combination of the chlorine gas with metal. Average chloride removal efficiency of potable water filter is 19.57%. Time
required for purification of water is adequate with the use of wood charcoal. Initial investment as well as maintenance cost of
the filter is less. Ph, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity of treated water through potable water filter is within permissible limit.

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JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131

Table 2: Test Results for Treated and Untreated Water

Sr. Coagulant pH Alkalinity Hardness Turbidity Chloride Discharge
No. (Grams) UTW TW UTW TW UTW TW UTW TW UTW TW (Lit/Hr)
1 2 8.9 8.1 228 214 548 456 90 2 345 210 5
2 2 8.6 8.4 200 180 392 391 98 1 288 230 5
3 2 8.8 8.7 280 220 639 416 79 0 360 310 5
4 2 8.33 7.08 260 224 808 652 52 0 270 210 5
5 2 6.49 6.35 360 260 696 504 93 1 268 206 5
6 2.5 6.86 6.86 320 280 608 452 88 0 240 198 5
7 2.5 6.67 6.52 300 270 564 420 65 1 328 270 5
8 2.5 6.41 6.32 328 300 596 496 98 0 293 243 5
9 2.5 6.9 6.51 340 316 476 356 65 0 310 260 5
10 2.5 6.78 6.53 204 180 756 536 78 1 295 233 5
11 3 7.78 6.49 360 328 704 536 76 0 280 220 5
12 3 7.17 6.58 360 352 608 484 75 0 270 180 5
*UTW: Untreated Water and TW: Treated Water

IV. CONCLUSIONS

Potable water filter purifies water for drinking purpose effectively. In this model the use of costly coagulants such as calcium,
phosphorous is replaced by natural coagulant i.e. moringa oleifera. Plastic container is used instead of metal bucket in potable
water filter for easy handling and cost reduction. Filter is based on basic and simple purification process so that even unskilled,
uneducated person can handle model. After using xylem for disinfection xylem was replaced by wood charcoal as discharge
through xylem is low and time consuming. Time required for purification of water is adequate with the use of wood charcoal.
Initial investment as well as maintenance cost of the filter is less.

It is compact, light weight, suited for transport by foot if necessary and easy to install. Potable water filter doesn’t require
outer source of energy to purify water such as electricity. Model is gravity operated as well as easy to dismantle, also it does
not require any mechanical and electrical means therefore is safe to handle. In terms of reliability the system is designed to be
capable of providing adequate amount of water for one family. Filtration rate of the model is 5 liter per hour. Treated water is
tested after purification and checked its suitability for drinking which are positive. Total cost of the model is around 500
Indian Rupees which is very low compared to other filters. Overall Potable water filter is proved to be effective.

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