Enhanced Particle Capture through Aluminum Hydroxide Addition to Pores in Sand Media
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 1
Abstract
In this study, precipitation of was used to modify a sand filter medium by fluidized-bed pretreatment. A mixture of alum, sodium hydroxide, and tap water was applied to the filter bed in the last stage of the backwash cycle. The placement of in the filter pores was evaluated for both alum-treated raw water (contact filtration) and untreated raw water. The filter pretreated with achieved better than 99.98% removal of an untreated clay suspension, with a filter effluent turbidity below the detection limit of 0.01 NTU. -pretreated filters that were challenged with clay and humic acid achieved turbidity removal efficiency for 14 h of operation in the contact filtration mode. Pretreatment with also enhanced turbidity removal efficiency (up to 99.8%) when the filter was challenged with clay and humic acid, even when the raw water was not coagulated. The aluminum concentration in the filter effluent of an -pretreated filter was below the EPA secondary drinking water maximum contaminant level ( for aluminum) when the raw water pH was between 6 and 7; the pretreated filter had the best performance at pH 6.
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Acknowledgments
The research described in this paper was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No.UNSPECIFIEDCBET-0604566 and by the Sanjuan Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 1 • January 2012
Pages: 8 - 16
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 16, 2010
Published online: Feb 3, 2011
Accepted: Jun 30, 2011
Published in print: Jan 1, 2012
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