Studies on perchlorate filtration by fabric filters

The environment enveloping the earth, acts as the life supporting media for all living organisms on the world. It is important to have a trouble free environment for the well being of all living things created by the nature. The recent detection of perchlorate, a chemical radical, is one of many chemical contaminants hampering the natural balance needed for a better environment. Perchlorate is a manmade industrial byproduct; a toxic chemical substance contaminating the ground water. The toxic effects of perchlorate on living beings have been found to be drastic and sometimes fatal. Devising perchlorate countermeasure technologies calls for engineered solutions that would remove this substance from water in a cost effective manner.

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the perchlorate filtration capability of woven and nonwoven fabrics. The adsorption of the anionic reactive radical (C104') by fabrics that act as the filter medium has been determined using ion chromatography. Commercially available woven and nonwoven fabrics with specific characteristics were used as the experimental filter medium in the study. The filtration ability of the countermeasures medium in removing the perchlorate anion was analyzed and compared with the other fabrics used in the study.

Results showed that among the various woven and nonwoven fabrics used as filters, activated carbon fabrics having high carbon deposition were found to exhibit the highest ability to adsorb perchlorate ions in the filtration process. This work has shown that textile fabrics can serve as perchlorate filter mediums contrary to the results available in the public domain. Moreover, the fabric filtration treatment method has been proven to be effective in removing perchlorate from the contaminated medium in a simple and effective manner.