*Water Quality Analysis for First Need XL Purifier*
After my initial bench test of the First Need xl water purifier, I inquired with the water treatment lab at work. They agreed to perform a simple vacuum filtration test for suspended solids. Here are the results:
First, the feedstock was drawn from the bank of the Neosho river. It is a muddy mess of a river, with clay banks and a lot of silt:
These are the bottles of raw water and filter effluent:
There is a dramatic difference in turbidity and odor. I saw nothing suspended in the effluent.
These are the lab filter elements after vacuum filtration:
Again, a dramatic difference. The filters had a pore size of 0.45 microns, so there is evidence of particles larger than that present in the filter effluent.
The filters were dried and weighed, resulting in a measure of the filtrate. The raw water contained 0.559 mg/L and the filter effluent contained 0.0019 mg/L. This represents a decontamination factor of 294 for suspended solids greater than 0.45 microns.
With the extreme filthiness of the raw water, I conclude that this filter is efficient in greatly reducing the suspended solids present in water passed through it. The presence, however, of particles greater than 0.45 microns leads me to dismiss the manufacturer's claim of eliminating the need for chlorination, boiling or iodation. In my opinion, informed by this test, water filtered with this device will still need further treatment to remove bacterial contaminants.
Grundy
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