Enteric Virus Removal from Water by Coal-Based Sorbents: Development of Low-Cost Water Filters

Using poliovirus type 1 (Sabin) and dechlorinated tap water, several coal-based sorbents were tested for their capacity to remove viruses from water. The sorbents included bituminous coal from Giridih, India, pretreated/impregnated with either alum, ferric hydroxide, lime or manganese dioxide. Filtrasorb-400, commercially available active carbon, was used as a reference. In batch tests, with input virus concentration of 2.34-2.83×10⁶ PFU l⁻¹ and sorbent concentration of 10 g l⁻¹, alum pretreated coal removed about 96% of the virus when pH of the water was between 6.3 and 8.9. Virus sorption was rapid and a plateau was reached in 30 min. Compared with the active carbon, alum pretreated coal exhibited greater sorption energy and about one log higher limiting poliovirus sorption capacity. Downflow column study indicated the potential of alum pretreated coal as a filter media for removing enteric viruses from water. A previous study showed this sorbent to be capable of removing enteric bacteria as well. Water filters prepared from such low-cost material may prove useful for domestic use in rural areas of India and other developing countries.