Daniela Duran Romero

Ms. Daniela Duran Romero

Institute of Hydraulic Research, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil.
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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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17 August 2020 in Water
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Daniela Duran RomeroDaniela Duran Romero
Daniela Duran Romero
MSMaria Cristina de Almeida Silva
Maria Cristina de Almeida Silva
Beni Jequicene Mussengue ChaúqueBeni Jequicene Mussengue Chaúque
Beni Jequicene Mussengue Chaúque
Antônio BenettiAntônio Benetti
Antônio Benetti
The number of people living without access to clean water can be reduced by the implementation of point-of-use (POU) water treatment. Among POU treatment systems, the domestic biosand filter (BSF) stands out as a viable technology. However, the performance of the BSF varies with the inflow water quality characteristics, especially turbidity. In some locations, people have no choice but to treat raw water that has turbidity above recommended levels for the technology. This study aimed to measure the efficiency with which the BSF removes microorganisms from well water and from fecal-contaminated water with turbidity levels of 3, 25, and 50 NTU. Turbidity was controlled by the addition of kaolin to water. Turbidity removal varied from 88% to 99%. Reductions in total coliform (TC) and Escherichia coli ranged from 0.54–2.01 and 1.2–2.2 log removal values (LRV), respectively. The BSF that received water with a higher level of turbidity showed the greatest reduction in the concentration of microorganisms. Additional testing with water contaminated with four bacterial pure cultures showed reductions between 2.7 and 3.6 LRV. A higher reduction in microorganisms was achieved after 30–35 days in operation. Despite the filter’s high efficiency, the filtrates still had some microorganisms, and a disinfection POU treatment could be added to increase water safety.