Safe drinking water depends on activated carbon block filters, yet the tools to rigorously test them are fundamentally broken. Current methods are resource intensive, demanding significant time, space, and water. Critically, no small-scale approach can accurately replicate the unique structural dynamics of these filters. Researchers and developers are left with no efficient path forward, forcing costly full-scale studies that slow innovation and delay public health solutions.
This modular filter cell solves what was previously unsolvable: accurately downscaling activated carbon block filters for laboratory evaluation. Unlike past attempts that simply adjusted flow rates, this apparatus replicates the true outside in flow path by using an ACB puck that mirrors the carbon thickness of a full-scale filter and normalizes flow by surface area. The result is a device that integrates into multi cell rigs, enabling high throughput parallel testing of hydraulic residence times, biofilm development, and contaminant removal, all in a fraction of the footprint.
Schematic of the full-size ACB filter and the filter cell design.