Porex Filtration Offers Solution To Contaminated Water In Jakarta, Indonesia With Tubular Membrane Filter

Access to clean water is a problem that affects people around the world. In Jakarta, Indonesia, Porex Filtration recently responded to a call for a small-scale water filtration system to provide clean water to a low-income apartment complex that had long suffered with poor quality water.

In Indonesia, there is a water tariff system in place for local residents to access clean water. This is adequate for wealthier neighborhoods, but for most poverty-ridden communities, it is too expensive. The groundwater they depend on is yellowish in color and is typically contaminated with high organics, hardness, iron and manganese.

Porex, along with two other filtration companies, piloted a filter system at the apartment complex to demonstrate to the Jakarta government that there is a solution to the water plight they are experiencing. This apartment complex is located in one of the many poor areas of the city that is not connected to the treated water grid. Residents of the complex rely on an in-situ water treatment system that is not well maintained and is not adequate to treat the badly contaminated water there. Water carriers do bring in water, but charge prices that are not affordable for most of the residents. Porex installed its Tubular Membrane Filter (TMF) technology, which filtered the solids from the ground water. A chlorine pre-treatment was also applied. The resulting water was potable and ready for drinking and cooking.

The initiative has received a tremendously positive response. Residents have lined up from morning until night to collect the clean water. What started as a proof of concept has evolved into a much larger effort to offer more communities in Jakarta access to filtered water. The Jakarta government has already put in an order for the Porex TMF modules for a 2.5 liters per second filtration system.

“It’s a basic human necessity to have access to clean water. We are excited and proud to help the Jakarta government establish this standard for its residents,” said Mike Flater, Vice President and General Manager of Porex Filtration. “When our Southeast Asia Sales Manager, Yee Keong Wan, brought this opportunity up, we became very interested to test and apply our TMF technology in this small local area. We are not only pleased with the results, but very gratified by the response of the residents in having access to clean water. We look forward to future neighborhood complex installations so that others can benefit from our TMF technology.”

The long-term goal is to increase clean water supply to low-cost apartment complexes across the city. There are approximately 1,000 apartment blocks with total water needs of around 500 to 600 liters per second. With Porex TMF technology, these apartment complexes can be supplied clean water even from heavily polluted sources, as Jakarta has significant public sewage challenges. Because the Porex TMF system may be designed as modular and portable, it can be utilized according to the water needs of each specific area. For more information, visit www.porexfiltration.com/company/company-overview/.

About Porex Filtration
POREX Filtration Division provides unique solutions to high-solids filtration and separation​ ​problems with microfiltration and ultrafiltration systems. Our industrial filtration applications include water and wastewater, zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems, lime softening/pre-RO, metals reduction/recycling, semi-conductor/sawing and grinding wastewater reclaim, fluoride reduction and dewatering oil/water emulsions. Porex manufacturing plants, located in North America, Europe and Asia, provide both standard and custom components to customers through a global network of sales engineers, agents and distributors.