Purification of groundwater contaminated with iron and manganese by effective cost filter materials for households in rural areas

This research investigated the feasibility of effective cost filter materials for groundwater purification in the small and medium scale households in Vietnamese rural areas. The trial models could treat 30 L of groundwater with aeration flow 5 L/min for 15 min. After 24 h of sedimentation, the water was filtered through layers of gravel (h = 11 cm), sea sand (h = 11 cm), activated carbon (h = 15 cm), manganese sand (h = 12 cm), sea sand (h = 11 cm) and gravel (h = 11 cm). After treatment process, the concentration of Fe and Mn ions of the output trial models was lower than the Vietnamese standard for drinking water. The model has a simple structure and easy assembly for washing the filter materials which continued to be used for the next filtration process. These models provide in rural areas, where it promising solutions for supplying drinking water to households is difficult to get clean ground water.