1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Development of a water treatment system for emergency situations

AuthorNguyen Thi Thuy
Call NumberAIT Thesis no.EV-10-10
Subject(s)Water--Purification

NoteA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Environment Engineering and Management
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
AbstractDevelopment of a water treatment system for emergency situation with no electricity and chemicals was conducted in this study. Performance of two water treatment systems using Poly Vinylident Fluoride Hollow Fiber Microfiltration (PVDF-HFMF) and Woven Fiber Microfiltration (WFMF) were investigated. The driving force for the WFMF system was gravity whereas a hand pump was used for PVDF-HFMF system. Feed water used was surface water taken from AIT pond water with high organic matters, and Chao Phraya River water with high turbidity. For 16 intermittent working hours per day, the HFMF system produced 356 -380 L treated water which can be supplied for a small community with population around 80 people. A longer filtration cycle time was achieved in the river water (14 days) if compared to the pond water (4-6days). Turbidity in treated water was in the range of 0.18-0.56 NTU. No total coliform and fecal colifrom were detected in the filtrate from AIT pond water, but they were found in permeate from the river water. Micro-particles of the same size of Giardia and Cryptosporidium were reduced by 89.7% from AIT pond water and 99.4% from the river water. TSS in feed water was removed completely after the treatment. DOC was eliminated 15.1 % to 21.5 % for AIT pond water and at a lower level for the river water. The results from DOC fractionation test proposed that DOC in AIT pond water, especially hydrophilic DOC fraction can be the major cause of membrane fouling. However, this organic fouling may not be significant in the case of river water. Actual demonstration of the HFMF system was done to get the feedbacks from volunteers. The WFMF system could generate 59-62 L/d treated water which is expected to supply the drinking water for about 12 people. The flux was more stable when system worked with river water than with AIT pond water. However, coliform and fecal coliform were detected in most samples of permeate. TSS was free in permeate from the pond water while about 1.4 mg/L was found in permeate from the river water. In terms of particle removal, however, lower removal efficiency was obtained from the WFMF system (67.8 % for AIT pond water and 98.3 % for river water) compared to the HFMF system.
Year2010
TypeThesis
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
DepartmentDepartment of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC))
Academic Program/FoSEnvironmental Engineering (EV)
Chairperson(s)Visvanathan, C.;
Examination Committee(s)Nguyen, Thi Kim Oanh;Shipin, Oleg V.;
Scholarship Donor(s)Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), Germany;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship;
DegreeThesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2010


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