Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Field Pipe

Abstract

An increase of pathogenic bacteria (E. coli) in river water is a concern as it is the main precursor to health hazard disinfection in conventional drinking water treatment systems. To date, many treatment methods for the removal of E. coli have been introduced in treatment plants and proved effective for bacteria removal. However, there is no information about non-ionising radiation applications in water treatment plants in Malaysia. Therefore, this study develop the new technique to remove Escherichia coli (E. coli), and reduce the concentration with low-frequency electromagnetic fields (LF-EMF) as a component of the non-ionising radiations in the river water. This prototype design and construct a LF-EMF device on horizontal coiled pipe that were capable of producing uniform magnetic fields in the frequency range of 50 Hz. A magnetic field density was varied at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mT. The diameter of pipe was 50 mm, which underwent 6 hours of LF-EMF exposure at 50 mL/min of water flowrates. The maximum removal efficiency of E. coli in was 100% at 6, 8, and 10 mT of magnetic field exposure. These results indicated that the E. coli in the sample of water that was exposed to the LF-EMF was statistically significantly decreased. The magnetic intensity of the LF-EMF changed the characteristic responses for E. coli bacteria.