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Ronny Berndtsson

Professor, CMES Director, MECW Scientific Coordinator

Profile photo of Ronny Berndtsson

Performance of a Zeolite-Filled Slow Filter for Dye Removal and Turbidity Reduction

Author

  • Shynggyskhan Sultakhan
  • Makhabbat Kunarbekova
  • Bostandyk Khalkhabai
  • Ulan Kakimov
  • Erzhan Kuldeyev
  • Ronny Berndtsson
  • Jechan Lee
  • Seitkhan Azat

Summary, in English

Ever-increasing global water shortages necessitate more advanced and cost-effective water purification methods. Herein, a novel slow filtration system using natural raw zeolite is proposed as an alternative to traditional quartz sand as a filter medium. The system demonstrates excellent performance in reducing turbidity and removing methylene blue (MB). The natural zeolite-based filtration system (filter bed depth of 70 cm) completely adsorbed 30 ppm MB at a filtration velocity of 0.2 m/h, maintaining its performance up to 2 months. The highest adsorption capacity (qmax) for MB of natural zeolite was 8.32 mg/g for the 0.3 mm fraction and 13.84 mg/g for the 0.1 mm fraction. The slow filtration process demonstrated high turbidity removal efficiencies, achieving 98.53% with the natural zeolite filter and 98.97% with the quartz sand filter, indicating the effectiveness of both media in improving water quality. This study highlights the potential of the natural zeolite-based slow filtration system as a versatile and effective water treatment solution.

Department/s

  • MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World
  • Division of Water Resources Engineering
  • LTH Profile Area: Water

Publishing year

2025-12

Language

English

Publication/Series

Water (Switzerland)

Volume

17

Issue

24

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

MDPI AG

Topic

  • Water Treatment

Keywords

  • crystalline mineral
  • filtration
  • porous material
  • wastewater
  • water treatment
  • zeolite

Status

Published

Project

  • The United Nations University Hub: Water in a Changing Environment (WICE)

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2073-4441