Activated carbon filters are an effective tool in water purification for both widespread residential use and manufacturing processes. Weather using block or granular carbon filters, the goal is to remove free chlorine and organic compounds from the water. This reduces or eliminates the chance of chlorine combining with organic acids and forming damaging carcinogens, such as trihalomethanes.
However, activated carbon has some further limitations and strengths. It cannot filter out certain contaminants or organic compounds, including sodium and fluoride. Heavy metals are another major pollutant, which is widespread in the environment due to industrial pollution. As heavy metals are non-biodegradable, they accumulate easily in the environment and pollute food and water. And they are harmful to the human body and can cause various diseases.
Rajah Filter Technics has created block and granulated activated carbon filters from coconut shells and offers a way to remove lead contaminants from potable water. These filters can be used for consumer or industrial use. Read on for further information about a study we conducted testing our block filters and their effectiveness at removing lead during purification.
Removing Heavy Metals During Water Purification
Lead cannot be removed effectively by standard activated carbon filters. In order to purify the water, Rajah Filter Technics has developed its own in-house process, where certain additives are combined with the carbon, enabling it to remove lead more effectively.
This offers an effective and economical solution to remove lead, as other processes are often very expensive.
Rajah Filter Technics also uses organic Indian coconut as our source of activated carbon. Coconut is an extremely effective medium to facilitate adsorption. Not only are Indian coconuts an economical business choice, but it also offers a harder, denser form of activated carbon. Due to their density and durability, less of the filter will seep into the water in the form of fine, grey particulates.
A coconut-based, surface-treated activated carbon filter offers a higher level of purification than normal block filters. Our research and development team conducted a study to compare the effectiveness between our product and standard block activated carbon filters.
Our Study and The Results
The research and development department elected to use the following set-up to test Rajah filters against standard block activated carbon filters:
- Total Dissolved Solids: 200-500 mg/L
- Target Influent: 150 ppb
- Temperature: 20 C
- pH: 8.5
The acceptable limit for lead remaining in the water after filtration is 10ppb (5) or less (NSF 53). The flow rate of the block is 3.8 LPM under a pressure of 60 psi, with a 50/50 alternating test run of influent water.
A normal block filter proved to be far less effective at lead removal. The standard block became clogged and interrupted water flow by the time 2000 liters had been purified. Their purification levels began at 1.00ppb and rose above the acceptable limit after only 1500 liters had passed through.
In contrast, the Rajah filters were able to maintain a much higher level of purification for far longer. Our purification began at 0.01ppb and did not surpass the acceptable limit of lead until 10000 of water had passed through. Shortly after passing the optimum filtration limit, our activated carbon block “choked” and was unable to purify any more water.
This study shows that Rajah Filter Technics’ activated carbon block filters are a superior choice. They offer a more economical option due to their longevity. In addition, they are capable at filtering out more than 5 times as much heavy metal particulates as regular blocks in the industry.