Decentralized Membrane Filtration System for Sustainable and Safe Drinking Water Supply in Low-Income Countries: Baseline Study
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 11
Abstract
Decentralized membrane filtration systems (DMFS) have the potential to supply safe drinking water in low-income countries (LICs) where centralized municipal water treatment is practically infeasible. This study aimed at applying an integrated bench-scale and field-testing approach to assess the sustainability of a DMFS in producing safe drinking water in LICs. The state-of-the-art DMFS employed in this study was capable of removing bacteria, surrogate parasites, and viruses at reductions above 7, 5, and 4, respectively, from evaluated waters (). The technological sustainability of the DMFS was primarily affected by membrane fouling, and a linear correlation was found between the reversible/irreversible fouling rates of a miniature bench-scale system and those of the full-size DMFS caused by representative types of source waters. The total and irreversible fouling rates of the full-size DMFS were approximately 50% of those of the miniature system, regardless of the properties of the source waters. Similar quantitative relationships may be established between the fouling rates of the bench-scale system and those of other full-size DMFS. Overall, easy and cost-effective fouling control is warranted for sustainable application of DMFS in LICs, and bench-scale membrane testing serves as a potential screening tool for this purpose.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank Thayer A. Young and James T. Schissler, for performing the microbial analyses of the water samples, and Dr. Patrick Breysse for providing the field-testing site. We are also grateful to GE Power and Water for providing the DMFS and the membrane, as well as valuable technical support throughout this study. This study was partially supported by funding through the Global Water Program and the Center for Water and Health at Johns Hopkins University, the Osprey Foundation of Maryland, and a U.S. EPA STAR Grant (USEPAR833002). The views expressed herein have not been subjected to U.S. EPA review and therefore do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 11 • November 2011
Pages: 981 - 989
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 23, 2010
Accepted: May 24, 2011
Published online: May 26, 2011
Published in print: Nov 1, 2011
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