How Ultrafiltration Technology Removes 99.9% of Waterborne Pathogens

In the water purification industry, not all technologies are equal. Some remove visible dirt. Some reduce odour. But only one technology addresses the full spectrum of threats — from microscopic bacteria and viruses to heavy metals and chemical contaminants — without wasting a single drop of water or consuming a watt of electricity. That technology is ultrafiltration (UF), and it lies at the heart of the Pure Life Water Purifier.

Developed through a Sri Lanka–South Korea joint venture by CEYKO International, the Pure Life system is assembled in Biyagama, Sri Lanka, using filter cartridges manufactured by Synopex Inc. — a globally recognised membrane technology company based in Gyeonggi, South Korea, holding both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. The result is a purification system that is both world-class in technology and specifically calibrated for Sri Lanka's unique water challenges.

What Is Ultrafiltration?

Ultrafiltration is a membrane-based separation process that filters water through pores measuring just 0.001 to 0.1 microns in diameter — so small that a single human hair is thousands of times larger. To put this in perspective, a typical bacterium measures between 1 and 10 microns, and most viruses between 0.02 and 0.3 microns. The UF membrane stops them all.

Water is forced under pressure through a hollow-fibre membrane — a bundle of microscopic tubes whose walls are perforated with millions of these ultra-fine pores. Contaminants that are larger than the pore size are physically blocked and cannot pass through. The result is water that is free from pathogens, suspended solids, colloidal particles, and high-molecular-weight chemical compounds.

What Does Pure Life's Ultrafiltration Remove?

The Pure Life ultrafiltration filter is designed to remove the full range of biological and chemical threats present in Sri Lankan water sources. Here is what the system eliminates:

Unlike reverse osmosis (RO), which strips water of all dissolved minerals including beneficial ones, ultrafiltration retains healthy, low-molecular-weight minerals such as calcium and magnesium, while blocking harmful high-molecular-weight contaminants. This preserves the natural mineral balance of the water — maintaining optimal pH between 6.5 and 8.5, in full compliance with Sri Lanka Standards SLS 614:2013.

The Multi-Stage Filtration Process

The Pure Life system does not rely on a single filter. Instead, it deploys a multi-stage sequential filtration architecture, where each stage targets a specific category of contaminant, and the water passes through all stages before reaching your glass. Here is how the process works:

Two Filters, One Mission: Gold & Silver — Designed for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's diverse geography — wet zone, dry zone, and intermediate zone — creates dramatically different water quality profiles. Water from wells in the dry zone (North Central Province, Uva, etc.) is often heavily loaded with heavy metals, hardness, arsenic, and fluoride. Water from the national municipal supply (National Water Supply & Drainage Board) in the wet zone contains chlorine, pipe rust, and chemical residues, but typically lower heavy metal concentrations.

Pure Life has engineered two distinct filter systems — Gold and Silver — each optimised for the water chemistry of its target environment. Both systems share the same core ultrafiltration membrane technology, but differ in the number of filtration stages and the specific contaminants they are calibrated to address.

Why Gold for Well Water?

Groundwater in Sri Lanka's dry zone and many rural areas carries a significantly higher burden of heavy metals — particularly arsenic, fluoride, cadmium, and iron — than treated municipal water. The Gold Filter's fifth-stage Special Carbon Filter is what sets it apart.

This stage incorporates Bayoxide E33 media (technical iron oxide), which is the global industry standard for arsenic reduction. It reduces up to 99% of total arsenic and is equally effective against lead, cadmium, chromium, antimony, and molybdenum — the specific heavy metals most commonly found at elevated levels in Sri Lankan groundwater, and most strongly linked to CKDU and other NCDs in our at-risk communities.

The Gold Filter is also the appropriate choice for households using government municipal water — as the additional stages provide a comprehensive safety margin for households that may experience water quality variability due to aging infrastructure or source contamination events.

Why Silver for Municipal Tap Water?

The Silver Filter is specifically designed for the water delivered by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) through the piped municipal network — particularly in the wet zone. NWSDB-treated water is already disinfected with chlorine, which means the primary concerns are residual chlorine, chlorine byproducts, pipe rust, sediment accumulated in aging pipework, and biological recontamination.

The Silver system's four-stage architecture addresses all of these with precision. The activated carbon stage effectively adsorbs chlorine and its byproducts, eliminating that characteristic chlorine taste and smell. The ultrafiltration membrane then provides the final biological barrier, ensuring the water that reaches your glass is free from any bacteria or pathogens that may have entered the distribution system after treatment.

Performance Specifications

Specification	Details
Filtration Technology	Ultrafiltration (UF) — Hollow-Fibre Membrane
Membrane Pore Size	0.001 to 0.1 microns
Pathogen Removal Rate	99.9%+ (Bacteria, Viruses, Protozoa)
Filter Cartridge Manufacturer	Synopex Inc., South Korea (ISO 9001, ISO 14001)
Minimum Filter Capacity	3,000 litres per cartridge
Maximum Flow Rate	4 litres per minute
Operating Pressure	60–70 psi
Maximum Temperature	45°C
Electricity Required	None — Gravity + Water Pressure Driven
Water Wastage	Zero — No Waste Water
Compliance Standard	SLS 614:2013 (Sri Lanka Standards) — ITI Certified
Certifications	ITI Sri Lanka, SLS, ISO (Korea), Korean Standards Association, SUNFO UN-affiliated

The M3 Carbon Advantage: Meso-Pore Technology

An innovation exclusive to the Pure Life system is the DS M3 Carbon Filter — a Dual Sediment filter incorporating Synopex's proprietary M3 Carbon, derived from rice and featuring a unique meso-pore structure.

Unlike conventional coconut-shell activated carbon, which is dominated by micro-pores and macro-pores, M3 Carbon provides a balanced distribution of micro, meso, and macro pores. The 2–50nm meso-pores are the key: they provide dramatically superior adsorption capacity for the medium-sized organic molecules most responsible for unpleasant taste and colour in water. The thin, flat geometry of M3 Carbon pieces also causes less clogging and is more durable under water pressure — extending filter life and maintaining consistent performance.

No Electricity. No Waste. No Compromise.

One of the Pure Life system's most significant advantages over competing technologies — particularly reverse osmosis — is that it requires no electricity and produces zero waste water. RO systems typically waste 3–4 litres of water for every 1 litre purified, and require a pump and power supply. Pure Life operates entirely on normal water line pressure — meaning it works during power cuts, needs no installation of pumps, and has zero running cost beyond periodic filter replacement.

This makes the Pure Life system uniquely suited to Sri Lanka's conditions: frequent power cuts, high water cost sensitivity, and a population where 70% of households are not connected to the national water supply and have no guarantee of electricity reliability.