Direct Biofiltration for Manganese Removal from Surface Water
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 4
Abstract
Research has shown biological filtration to be a successful treatment for the removal of manganese (Mn) from groundwater and surface water. In this study, bench-scale direct biofiltration was used to remove Mn and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from a pH 6 surface water source in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Three factors were examined for their effects on Mn and DOC removal: media type (granular activated carbon and anthracite), pH (6 and 9–11), and nutrient enhancement with phosphorus (P; 20 and ). pH was a significant factor in Mn removal (). The P-enhanced pH 6 biofilters for both media obtained an average 91% Mn removal; the P-enhanced pH 9–11 filters for both media achieved an average 70% Mn removal. An average of 23% DOC removal was achieved with P enhancement, compared to 12% DOC removal without P enhancement. Mn was likely removed by biological oxidation and biogenic oxide adsorption. These results show that direct biofiltration of raw surface water at pH 6 can remove Mn to below the guideline from an influent Mn concentration of over .
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the NSERC/Halifax Water Industrial Research Chair Program, which includes the following industrial partners: Halifax Water, LuminUltra Technologies Ltd., Cape Breton Regional Municipality and CBCL Ltd. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of the Halifax Water plant staff for technical assistance during the project. As well, they also thank Melissa Kosik, Dallys Serracin and Heather Daurie for their help with data collection and analysis at Dalhousie University.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 4 • April 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 21, 2013
Accepted: Jan 2, 2014
Published online: Feb 3, 2014
Published in print: Apr 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Jul 3, 2014
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