Optimizing filter bed depth using local material for efficient and cost-effective water filtration in developing countries

Many developing countries continue to face challenges in ensuring access to safe drinking water. The selection of appropriate filter media is crucial to ensure cost-effective and safe drinking water. Inexpensive local materials, such as sand, activated carbon, and zeolite, offer efficient and cost-effective alternatives for filter media in developing countries. The recent studies have identified Malimpung Sand from Pinrang Regency as a promising local alternative in South Sulawesi. This study aims to further investigate the effectiveness of Malimpung sand as filter media and determine the optimal depth of a combination of Malimpung sand and zeolite. Filter media combinations included Malimpung sand and zeolite at varying depths of 0.15 m, 0.1 m, and 0.05 m for both, resulting in nine filter depth combinations. Filtration simulations were conducted in the laboratory using 400 L of water with an initial turbidity of 100 NTU and total suspended solids (TSS) of 80 mg/L for each filter depth combination. The filtration time for each combination was set to a maximum of 360 min, with water volume and quality recorded every 2 min. Results indicate that the combination of 0.1 m sand and 0.15 m zeolite delivers the best hydraulic performance and the most significant reduction in turbidity and TSS. This study demonstrates that variations in filter depth have a significant impact on both hydraulic performance and the reduction of turbidity and TSS, thereby providing a valuable reference for developing countries to utilize effective, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable local materials as filtration media.