Raw water that comes from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or groundwater often contains various physical, organic, and inorganic contaminants. Before it can be used for industrial, household, or other public utilities, raw water must go through a comprehensive treatment process to ensure its quality meets certain standards. One of the important stages in raw water treatment is deep filtration.
Deep filtration is not just an ordinary filtration process. This technology plays a vital role in reducing total suspended solids (TSS), removing fine particles that are not captured by the previous process, and preparing water for further stages such as disinfection, softening, or reverse osmosis.
What is Deep Filtration?
Deep filtration is a water filtration process that is carried out using multi-media filter media designed to capture small to very fine particles. Unlike surface filtration which only traps contaminants on the surface of the media, deep filtration allows water to flow through layers of media with a certain depth, so that particles are filtered along the flow path.
Usually, the media used in deep filtration consists of several layers with different characteristics, such as:
- Silica sand: Functions as the bottom layer to capture coarse particles.
- Anthracite: Used on the top as a light media with a larger particle size.
- Activated carbon: To remove organic matter and odors.
- DMI-65: Special media that can remove iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in water.
With this configuration, the filtration process is not only effective in trapping suspended solid particles, but also efficient in extending the life of the media and reducing the frequency of backwashing.
The Role of Deep Filtration in Raw Water Treatment Systems
Raw water treatment systems generally consist of several stages, such as coagulation-flocculation, sedimentation (clarifier), and ending with a filtration process. In this flow, deep filtration acts as the final safeguard before the water enters a more sensitive stage, such as ion exchange, ultrafiltration, or reverse osmosis.
Some of the main functions of deep filtration in raw water treatment include:
1. Reducing Turbidity and TSS
After the sedimentation process, the water still contains fine particles such as colloidal mud or floc residue. Deep filtration effectively filters these particles to produce water with much lower turbidity.
Read Also: What are the Impacts of High TSS and Turbidity in Raw Water?
2. Increasing the Effectiveness of the Next Process
Processes such as reverse osmosis require feed water quality with very low turbidity levels. Deep filtration ensures that the water meets these requirements, thus preventing fouling on the membrane.
3. Reducing Organic and Metal Content
By using media such as activated carbon or DMI-65, deep filtration also helps reduce the content of organic matter, iron, manganese, and odorous compounds that are often found in raw water.
4. Stabilizing System Operation
With more stable water quality after the deep filtration process, the overall system becomes more resistant to fluctuations in raw water quality due to the rainy season, erosion, or environmental contamination.
Important Components in a Deep Filtration System
To achieve maximum performance, a deep filtration system needs to be designed by considering the following factors:
1. Type and characteristics of raw water
For example, river water with high TSS requires a combination of layered media and adjusted media particle sizes.
2. Filter tank design
The size, shape, and material of the tank will affect the pressure, flow rate, and filtration efficiency.
3. Flow rate and contact time
Too high a flow rate can cause the media to not work optimally, while adequate contact time is needed so that particles are truly captured.
Read Also: Poor Effluent Quality in Clarifier Tanks: Identifying and Resolving Flow Rate Issues
4. Automatic backwash system
To maintain system performance, backwashing is carried out periodically to clean the accumulation of particles in the media.
Conclusion
Deep filtration is one of the key stages in a raw water treatment system that aims to improve water quality before it is used for various needs. With the use of layered filter media and a precisely designed system, deep filtration can effectively remove fine particles, heavy metals, and other contaminants.
If you are facing challenges in raw water treatment—both in terms of water quality and process efficiency—Lautan Air Indonesia is ready to be your trusted solution partner. We offer integrated deep filtration systems, complete technical services, and high-quality filtration media to meet the needs of modern industry.
Contact us now for further consultation and trust your water solutions only to Lautan Air Indonesia.