Removal of *Escherichia Coli* Using Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Field in Riverbank Filtration

*Rossitah Selamat, Ismail Abustan, Mohd Rizal Arshad and Nurul Hana Mokhtar Kamal* 

### **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. Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a non-chemical techniques and natural treatments that efficient in reducing or removing the contaminants in the water. Therefore, this study aimed 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 RBF. This research design and construct a LF-EMF device on horizontal coiled columns 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 column 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.

**Keywords:** electromagnetic field, low-frequency, *E. coli*., growth, river water
