Elemental Iron (Fe0) for Better Drinking Water in Rural Areas of Developing Countries

Noubactep, Chicgoua; Woafo, P.

doi:10.1007/978-3-540-87746-2_18

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…This communication is part of an ongoing effort for low‐cost water treatment using well‐design Fe 0 beds 5, 6, 17, 24–26, 70, 71. While dual filters of Fe 0 and quartz will be long‐term permeable, the substitution of Fe 0 by bimetallic materials or the substitution of inert sand by reactive metal oxides will sustain long‐term reactivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe⁰/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO₂

Noubactep¹,

Caré

Btatkeu

et al. 2011

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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Filtration systems containing metallic iron as reactive medium (Fe0 beds) have been intensively used for water treatment during the last two decades. The sustainability of Fe0 beds is severely confined by two major factors: (i) reactivity loss as result of the formation of an oxide scale on Fe0 and (ii) permeability loss due to pore filling by generated iron corrosion products. Both factors are inherent to iron corrosion at pH > 4.5 and are common during the lifespan of a Fe0 bed. It is of great practical significance to improve the performance of Fe0 beds by properly addressing these key factors. Recent studies have shown that both reactivity loss and permeability loss could be addressed by mixing Fe0 and inert materials. For a non‐porous additive like quartz, the threshold value for the Fe0 volumetric proportion is 51%. Using the Fe0/quartz system as reference, this study theoretically discusses the possibility of (i) replacing Fe0 by bimetallic systems (e.g., Fe0/Cu0), or (ii) partially replacing quartz by a reactive metal oxide (MnO2 or TiO2) to improve the efficiency of Fe0 beds. Results confirmed the suitability of both tools for sustaining Fe0 bed performance. It is shown that using a Fe0:MnO2 system with the volumetric proportion 51:49 will yield a filter with 40% residual porosity at Fe0 depletion (MnO2 porosity 62%). This study improves Fe0 bed design and can be considered as a basis for further refinement and detailed research for efficient Fe0 filters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe⁰/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO₂

Noubactep¹,

Caré

Btatkeu

et al. 2011

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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“…However, despite the variability of the influents, the system outputs must be satisfactory. Based on state of the art knowledge of the mechanism of contaminant removal by Fe 0 /H2O systems, the use of metallic iron as a universal material for safe drinking water has been suggested [55,56]. The works of Ngai et al [18] suggested that the amount of Fe 0 in the filter is not necessarily high (e. g., 10% weight).…”

Section: /Sand Filtersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metallic Iron Filters for Universal Access to Safe Drinking Water

Noubactep¹,

Schöner

Woafo

2009

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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129

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The availability of sustainable safe drinking water is one of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The world is on schedule to meet the MDG to ‘halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water in 2000’. However, present technologies may still leave more than 600 million people without access to safe water in 2015. The objective of the present article is to present a concept for universal water filters primarily made of metallic iron (Fe0) and sand. The concept of Fe0/sand filters is based on a combination of: (i) recent developments in slow sand filtration and (ii) recent progress in understanding the process of contaminant removal in Fe0/H2O systems. The filters should be made up of more than 60% sand and up to 40% Fe0. The actual Fe0 proportion will depend on its intrinsic reactivity. The most important question to be answered regards the selection of the material to be used. The design of the filter can be derived from existing filters. It appears that Fe0/H2O based filters could be a technology with worldwide applicability.

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“…This conclusion is supported by the observation that even bacteria (Hussam and Munir, 2007;Diao and Yao, 2009) and viruses (You et al, 2005) are successfully removed in Fe 0 /H 2 O systems. The latter observation has led to the suggestion of metallic iron as a universal filter material in small above-ground walls and household filters for treatment of waters of unknown quality (Noubactep and Woafo, 2008;Noubactep et al, 2009b;Noubactep and Schöner, 2010b). If successfully developed, this simple idea could enable universal access to safe drinking water in remote areas around the world.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: The fundamental mechanism of aqueous contaminant removal by metallic iron

Noubactep¹

2010

WSA

138

115

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Contaminant co-precipitation with continuously generated and transformed iron corrosion products has received relatively little attention in comparison to other possible removal mechanisms (adsorption, oxidation, precipitation) in Fe 0 /H 2 O systems at near neutral pH values. A primary reason for this is that the use of elemental iron (Fe 0 ) in environmental remediation is based on the thermodynamic-founded premise that reducible contaminants are potentially reduced while Fe 0 is oxidised. However, co-precipitation portends to be of fundamental importance for the process of contaminant removal in Fe 0 /H 2 O systems, as the successful removal of bacteria, viruses and non reducible organic (e.g. methylene blue, triazoles) and inorganic (e.g. Zn) compounds has been reported. This later consideration has led to a search for the reasons why the importance of co-precipitation has almost been overlooked for more than a decade. Three major reasons have been identified: the improper consideration of the huge literature of iron corrosion by pioneer works, yielding to propagation of misconceptions in the iron technology literature; the improper consideration of available results from other branches of environmental science (e.g. CO 2 corrosion, electrocoagulation using Fe 0 electrodes, Fe or Mn geochemistry); and the use of inappropriate experimental procedures (in particular, mixing operations). The present paper demonstrates that contaminant co-precipitation with iron corrosion products is the fundamental mechanism of contaminant removal in Fe 0 /H 2 O systems. Therefore, the 'iron technology' as a whole is to be revisited as the 'know-why' of contaminant removal is yet to be properly addressed.

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Elemental Iron (Fe0) for Better Drinking Water in Rural Areas of Developing Countries

Cited by 4 publications

References 21 publications

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe⁰/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO₂

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe⁰/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO₂

Metallic Iron Filters for Universal Access to Safe Drinking Water

Review: The fundamental mechanism of aqueous contaminant removal by metallic iron

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Elemental Iron (Fe0) for Better Drinking Water in Rural Areas of Developing Countries

Cited by 4 publications

References 21 publications

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe0/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO2

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe0/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO2

Metallic Iron Filters for Universal Access to Safe Drinking Water

Review: The fundamental mechanism of aqueous contaminant removal by metallic iron

Contact Info

Product

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Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe⁰/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO₂

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe⁰/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO₂