SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering- (ICRTECITA-2017) - Special Issue - March 2017
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON
PURIFICATION OF WATER USING
NATURAL ADSORBENTS
Dr. A.S.Kanagalakshmi(1) (Professor)
V.T.Anubharathi(2) (Student)
Department of Civil Engineering
Panimalar Engineering College
Chennai, India
Department of Civil Engineering
Panimalar Engineering College
Chennai, India
R.Jayanthi(3)
Department of Civil Engineering
Panimalar Engineering College,Chennai, India
Abstract-Natural
filter
comprising
of
bamboo,gravel,pebble,and other locally available natural
adsorbents is a great alternative to carry out water
purification.It makes this filter unique is the use of bamboo
charcoal which is not commonly used in any filter designed
for domestic purposes. The use of bamboo charcoal for
water filtration goes back to ancient China and Japan and
it was said to sweeten the water for tea, but in terms of
chemistry, bamboo charcoal is an outcome of pyrolyzing
bamboo and is found to be a sort of porous material with
excellent adsorption, electromagneticshielding, and
infrared emitting capacity .It is used as the most important
resource efficiently and to provide cheap and natural
purified water.
Keywords--
Bamboo charcoal; Pebbles; Pots; Filter
cloth.
I. INTRODUCTION
Approximately 80% of all illnesses in developing
countries are caused by poor water and sanitation
condition. India has 16% of the world’s population
and 4% of its fresh water resources. Around 37.7
million Indians are affected by waterborne diseases
annually, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of
diarrhea alone and 73 million working days are lost
due to waterborne disease each year. The resulting
economic burden is estimated at $600 million a
year,providing safe drinking water to all in rural India
is a challenging task. The user should be made aware
ofthe importance of preventing contamination of
water and user’s accountability should also realize
their individual responsibility in maintaining the
ISSN : 2348 – 8352
quality of water. This project of water purification
using bamboo charcoal can be affordable for all class
people and it have some advantages over the most
preferable
water purifiers. According to the
economic condition it is not possible for the poor
people to install the modern purifiers in their homes.
The project shall fulfill the better substitution for the
essential need.
II. BAMBOO EFFICIENCY AND PROPERITIES
Bamboo charcoal’s
chemical composition and
physical structure both contribute heavily to its
strength as a water filter. It is 85-98% carbon, the
same substance used in most modern filtration
methods. Its structure is very porous, so it can absorb
and retain impurities easily. Bamboo charcoals is
rich in a number of minerals including calcium,
potassium, magnesium, sodium.As it filters water, its
minerals are dissolved and it enriches the water.
Unlike modern carbon filters, bamboo charcoal has
the added benefit of a built in team of microbes
working to decompose toxic substances like tri-halo
methane and chlorine.These harmless microbes can
flourish in bamboo charcoal, despite its inherent
antibacterial effects, which are uniqueto bambooand
are referred to as “bamboo Kun”. Bamboo Kun is an
anti –bacterial and anti- fungal bio-agent
thatnaturally bonds to bamboo cellulose without
killing its beneficial microbes.Thus water is naturally
cleared of toxic substances, bacteria and fungi.
Bamboo charcoal releases a type of electromagnetic
wave called Far infrared waves (FIR) , at a
www.internationaljournalssrg.org
Page 27
SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering- (ICRTECITA-2017) - Special Issue - March 2017
wavelengths ranging from 4 to 16 micrometers. It is
absorbed by all organic material. The human body
absorbs its entire range and can absorb up to 50
micrometers ion wavelength. The rays produce a
warming effect on the body, similar to the rays of the
sun, and can improve circulation substantially. We
don’t get this effect from the water but from the
presence of the charcoal itself.
III. CLAY POT
Clay is porous. In the same way, a clay pot is also
porous. When we Store water in a clay pot, the
evaporation happens. This process causes cooling as
water particles gain energy in the form of heat, then
change to gas and get mixed with air. Clay pot has
small holes visible at the microscopic level through
which water seeps out and gains energy to become
gas and gets evaporated causing cooling.Another
benefit of clay pot is the alkaline nature of clay. The
alkaline clay interacts with the acidity of water and
provides the proper pH balance.This water can help
curb acidity and in turn provides relief from
gastronomic pains. Drinking the right amount of
water plastic that cling onto the water molecules and
pose a health hazard. Alternatively, drinking water in
clay pot can help improve metabolism without
dangerous chemicals like BPA added to the fray. So
that scientists claim that storing water in a clay water
pot is the best way. The quality of a clay pot is
unique and no other container has the same quality.
V. PURIFICATION PROCESS
The process done with a filter having length of the
filter (three layers) is 51 cm and the Water can be
filtered at the speed of 0.022 m/s.Wastage estimated
as 0.2 liter for first 5 liters and it will reduce after that
.
VI. TEST TO BE CARRIED OUT



Physical analysis
Chemical analysis
Bacteriological analysis
VII. PHYSICAL ANALYSIS




pH test
Turbidity test
Temperature test
Total solids, Total suspended solids, Total
Dissolved solids
VIII. TEMPERATURE
Temparature is measured by thermometer.
IX.
TOTAL SOLIDS, TOTAL SUSPENDED
SOLIDS, TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS:
IV. METHODOLOGY
The flow chart which describes the whole process
of water purification.
ISSN : 2348 – 8352
www.internationaljournalssrg.org
Page 28
SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering- (ICRTECITA-2017) - Special Issue - March 2017
Colony Count Test
A. TOTAL SOLIDS
X. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
A. BOD TEST
Number of colonies (CFUs)
= No. of
bacteria/ml dilution x amount plated
XI. RESULT
Water sample for testing ( Chembarampakkam)
B. COD TEST
C. BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
ISSN : 2348 – 8352
Indian standards for drinking water (IS 10500: 2012):
www.internationaljournalssrg.org
Page 29
SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering- (ICRTECITA-2017) - Special Issue - March 2017
XII. ADVANTAGE OF NATURAL ADSORBENT
PURIFIER








It is Very cheap method of purification
It is Simple method
There is no need electricity
Bamboo charcoal’s efficiency
Clay pot’s effectiveness
It has less wastage
Less time consumption
Better taste and smell in water
XIII. CONCLUSION
Filtered water quality parameters
The result analysis between the water samples,
clearly shows the filter’s efficiency. “Internationally,
an income of less than $1.90 per day per head of
purchasing power parity is defined as extreme
poverty. By this estimate, about 32.7% of Indians are
extremely poor”.According to this report, that is too
tough to afford modern purifiers in each and
everyhome. This low cost and very efficient method
of water purifying can be the remedy.
References
Amuda, S; Ibrahim, AO; (2006). Industrial
wastewater treatment using natural material as
adsorbent.African Journal of Biotechnology. 5 (16),
1483-1487.
[1]
[2]Baker, CD; Clark, EW; Jerserning, WV;
Heuther.CH; (1973). Removal of dissolved Organic
compounds from Industrial wastewater. Journal of
Chemical Engineering Program, 6 (69), 77- 80.
[3]Hameed, BH; Din, AT.M ; Ahmad, AL; (2007).
Adsorption of methylene blue onto bamboo- based
activated carbon : kinetics and equilibrium studies.
Journal of hazardous materials 141, (3), 819-825;.
[4] Ibaraj S; Sulochana N; (2002). “Effects of
Agitation time and
Adsorbent dosage on the Adsorption of dyes” Indian
Journal of Chemical Technology, 9, 201-208.
[5] Larkman D. (1973). Physical/Chemical Treatment
of wastewater Journal of Chemical Engineering 6, 87
– 90
ISSN : 2348 – 8352
www.internationaljournalssrg.org
Page 30
SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering- (ICRTECITA-2017) - Special Issue - March 2017
[6] Metcalf and Eddy (2003). Wastewater
engineering, treatment and Re-use. John Wiley 6th
Ed. 1138 – 1151
[7] Mohammed, A; Nesaratnam, S; Mohammed, H.
(2005).Preparation of phosphoric acid-activated
carbon using palm date pits: physio-chemcial and
adsorptive properties Journal of Chemical
Technology.
Available:
www.ies.org.sg/journal/current/v46/v462_2.pdf [1st
August 2008]
[8]
Okafor,
JO;
Aneke,
NAG;
(2006).
Characterization of Adsorbents for the purification of
coca-cola effluent.Proceedings of the Nigerian
Society of Chemical Engineers, 31st Annual
Conference. 22 – 24.
ISSN : 2348 – 8352
www.internationaljournalssrg.org
Page 31