Identification of an Appropriate Formulation for Domestic Water Ceramic Filters from Soukamna Clay (Cameroon)

Abstract

This paper deals with the formulation of ceramic filters having the porosity adapted to domestic potable water treatment. The filters were made from clays and rice husk obtained from the Far North region of Cameroon (Logone Valley). Nine formulations were investigated to choose those that might have the porosity standing between 35 and 50% (the ideal porosity adapted for water treatment) [1]. The nine formulations investigated were as follow: clay:rice husk mixture weight ratio 0.7:0.3; 0.8:0.2 and 0.9:0.1 with the particle size of 100:100 microns. The sintering temperatures of 900°C, 950°C and 1000°C were applied for each of the mixtures. The results showed that only filters with weight ratio 0.7:0.3 sintered at 900°C, 950°C and 1000°C had porosity between 35 and 50% with values of 39.41±0.96; 40.15±1.59; 40.14±1.31 respectively. Mechanical strength, permeability and iron leaching behavior were investigated for these three formulations. The formulation 0.7:0.3 with sintering temperature of 1000°C had the higher permeability and was the more stable for iron leaching so it is the more adapted for water treatment in terms of flow rate and iron leaching behavior, pore size distribution showed that these filters were macroporous and designed for microfiltration with average pore diameter of 0.46µm.

Elaboration of Ceramic Pot Filter from Kaolinite (Cameroon Clay) for the Elimination of Suspended Particles from Domestic Drinking Water

“…This can be explained by the fact that the suspended particles are blocked within the pores and on the surface of the membrane leading to pore blocking and the formation of a cake layer (an auto-filtering properties) which helps in retaining the suspended particles thus increasing the rate of retention. Similar kind of results is also reported in the literature by [9] [24]. A maximum retention rate of 99.9% was obtained from the 9 th day of filtration corresponding to a reduction in turbidity value from 100 NTU to 0.1 NTU strictly respecting the norms of 5 NTU set by the WHO (2012).…”

“…The open-accessible porosity of the fired membrane was found around 36.15%, which is in accordance with values reported in the literature for efficient microfiltration membranes. Porosity is greater than 35% which is accepted for ceramic microfiltration [9] [10].…”