At their last Technology Team meeting, Living Waters for the World (LWW) approved zeolite filter media for particulate removal from raw water sources. Hydro Source, LLC is one vendor marketing zeolite media under the trade name Turbidex©. Their literature claims that Turbidex© media is more effective than sand. The micron efficiency for Turbidex© media is 3–5 microns versus 25-30 microns for sand.
The dense zeolite material increases the media loading factor 2.8 times the loading factor for sand. In a typical barrel sand filter, for example, 2 – 3 cu ft (150 lbs) of media can be used in place of sand to get better filtering efficiency with more flow rate through the filter. At a price of $50 – $60 per cu ft, the media is more expensive than sand, but worth the efficiency and flow improvements.
In pressure filter applications, higher flow rates will improve particulate removal over sand in most cases.
LWW has identified zeolite media suppliers in the Yucatan and Guatemala. The next time you are considering installation of a barrel sand filter, think about using zeolite media in place of sand.
Here’s a link: www.turbidex.com
Do we have any sites currently using turbidex and what is the life of the media?
Thanks for the question. I think we have one site in the Yucatan that has been designated as the first to try Zeolite. We have located suppliers in the Yucatan, Guatemala City, and maybe Honduras.
I do not know the expected life of the media, but with regular back-flushing and care, I would expect it to exceed 5 years.
Ralphl