The effects of material loading and flow rate on the disinfection of pathogenic microorganisms using cation resin-silver nanoparticle filter system

Waterborne diseases have a negative impact on public health in instances where the available drinking water is of a poor quality. Decentralised systems are needed to provide safe drinking water to rural communities. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop and investigate the point-of-use (POU) water treatment filter packed with resin-coated silver nanoparticles. The filter performance was evaluated by investigating the effects of various bed masses (10 g, 15 g, 20 g) and flow rates (2 mL/min, 5 mL/min, 10 mL/min) by means of breakthrough curves for the removal efficiency of presumptive Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhimurium and Vibrio cholerae from spiked groundwater samples. The results revealed that, as the bed mass increases the breakthrough time also increases with regards to all targeted microorganisms. However, when the flow rate increases the breakthrough time decreased. These tests demonstrated that resin-coated silver nanoparticle can be an effective material in removing all targeted microorganisms at 100% removal efficiency before breakthrough points are achieved. Moreover the filter system demonstrated that it is capable of producing 15 L/day of treated water at an operating condition of 10 mL/min flow rate and 15 g bed mass, which is sufficient to provide for seven individuals in the household if they consume 2 L/person/day for drinking purpose. Therefore, the bed mass of the filter system should be increased in order for it to produce sufficient water that will conform to the daily needs of an individual.