Monitoring the performance of a celite-based filter by using electrical resistivity and permeability measurements

전기비저항과 투수계수 측정을 통한 celite가 가미된 필터의 투과 성능 모니터링

Non-point pollutants, which mainly originate from high traffic roads and rural areas, contaminate the environment by flowing into various rivers and lakes and thus are of interest as an environmental issue. Accordingly, efforts have been made to design and maintain efficient filter systems for the control of the non-point pollutants. Meanwhile, clay-type materials are widely used for the absorption of chemicals included in pollutants and the absorption performances of various clays have been reported in the literature. Thus, the present study proposes a non-destructive monitoring method for the performance of a clay-type filter using electrical resistivity measurement. A series of experimental tests is performed on celite-based particulate filters with infiltrating non-point source pollutants having the same characteristics as pollutants on high traffic roads. Each test measures permeability, resistivity of the filter materials and resistivity of the filtrated water. As the particulate filter materials filtrate pollutants and absorb heavy chemicals (e.g., $Cr^{6+}$, lead, nickel, among others), ionic concentration increases resulting as the electrical resistivity decrease. When the filter systems approach the end of their lifetime, the electrical resistivity of the filter material converges to a very low value due to lowered filter absorption efficiency. Hence, the electrical resistivity of the filtrated water also converges to a low value due to high concentrations of heavy metals. The permeability converges to a very low value because of significantly reduced porosity due to clogging and absorption of pollutants on the filter material. The experimental results show that electrical resistivity monitoring of filter materials is a promising approach to estimation of filter performance and its life expectancy.