Point-of-use water purification using clay pot water filters and copper mesh

Abstract

Lack of clean water for use by rural communities in developing countries is of great concern globally. Contaminated water causes water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, which often lead to deaths, children being the most vulnerable. Therefore, the need to intensify research on point-of-use (POU) water purification techniques cannot be overemphasized. In this work, clay pot water filters (CPWFs) were fabricated using terracotta clay and sawdust. The sawdust was ground and sieved using 300, 600 and 900 µm sieves. The clay and sawdust were mixed in the ratios 1:1 and 1:2, by volume. Pots were then made, dried and fired in a furnace at 850 oC. Raw water collected from nearby rivers was filtered using the pots. The raw and fil tered water samples were then tested for E. coli, total coliforms, total hardness, turbidity, electrical conductivity, cations and anions. The 600 µm pot had the capacity to destroy E. coli completely from the raw water, whereas the 900 µm pot reduced it by 99.4%.

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