Inline Chlorinator for Potable Water Systems in Low-Resource Settings

Inline chlorination technologies can provide a flexible option for water treatment in a variety of scenarios in low-resource settings. However, limited efficacy data on chlorine dosing and the resulting free chlorine residual (FCR) levels under controlled conditions increases the barrier to use for both field practitioners and end users. In this paper, we report FCR data on the Aquatabs Flo device, a passive inline chlorinator, for common operating conditions including flow rates between 2 and 18 L/min (0.5 and 4.8 gal./min), pressure levels between 137.9 and 551.6 kPa (20 and 80 psi), and device positions (horizontal, tilted left or right, leaning forward or backward). In addition, we demonstrate a modification to the device to enable point-of-collection applications. Results suggest that variations in pressure do not influence FCR values, whereas device positions (i.e., misalignments) do. Finally, device modifications can reduce the FCR values for point-of-collection applications. The data reported here can be used to build decision support tools for field practitioners. (C) 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.