Porosity, Flow, and Filtration Characteristics of Frustum-Shaped Ceramic Water Filters
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 7
Abstract
This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effects of porosity on the flow rate and Escherichia coli (E. coli) filtration characteristics of porous ceramic water filters (CWFs) prepared without a coating of silver. Clay-based CWFs were fabricated by sintering composites of redart clay and fine woodchips (sawdust) in three different proportions by volume, viz: , , and . Sintering the greenware below 1,000°C produced reddish colored pot of three different degrees of porosity and micro- and nanoscale pores, which are the key to efficient filtration. The porosities and pore size distribution frequencies of the sintered clay ceramics were characterized using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The porosity of the CWFs ranged from to and increased with increasing sawdust content in a linear fashion, and the pore size varied from to . The volume flow rates of water through the CWFs were investigated by measuring the cumulative amount of water flow as a function of time. The flow rate was found to increase with increasing porosity of the CWFs. The effective intrinsic permeabilities of the CWFs were then obtained from Darcy fits to the flow rate data. These were compared with values obtained using the Katz-Thompson method. Both approaches gave comparable results of permeability between to . The tortuosity of the CWFs was found from Hager’s equation to range from to . In general, while the permeability of the CWFs decreased with increasing clay content, tortuosity increased with increasing clay content. The CWFs removed E. coli from aqueous suspension very efficiently with average log reduction values between 5.7–6.4. The implications and limitations of the results are discussed for the effective filtration of water in the developing world.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DMR 0231418) and The Grand Challenges Program at Princeton University. This paper is dedicated to the life and work of Ron Rivera, who was devoted to bringing clean water to poor people across the world. The authors will also like to acknowledge Andrew Usoro and Sara Piaskowy for their valuable technical contributions.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 7 • July 2013
Pages: 986 - 994
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 15, 2012
Accepted: Oct 18, 2012
Published online: Oct 19, 2012
Published in print: Jul 1, 2013
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