Impact of Media Aging on the Removal of Cryptosporidium in Granular Media Filters
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 5
Abstract
A study was conducted to assess the impact of media aging on Cryptosporidium parvum transport and retention in granular filters. Column experiments were conducted with sand, anthracite, and granular activated carbon (GAC) filters. All columns possessed an identical filter design and grain size distribution. Oocyst removal was evaluated with both new and aged media. The variation in performance among new media was attributed to the shape of the tested granular media and to the concentration of extractable metals on the surface of collector grains. Media aging significantly increased the treatment performance of sand (26%) and GAC (31%) but had no influence on the performance of anthracite. This enhanced performance of aged media correlated well with the extent of biofilm development. The best removal performance was observed with aged GAC (), which supported the highest amount of biomass according to polysaccharide and protein measurements. The results of this investigation are of particular interest because they suggest that media aging increases the removal of protozoan parasites in full-scale granular filters.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the Industrial NSERC Chair in Drinking Water and its industrial partners, namely, the City of Montreal, John Meunier Inc., and the City of Laval. The authors wish to thank the Chair’s personnel for support and technical assistance with laboratory work. In addition, they thank Prof. G. A. Vàzquez-Rodríguez (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo) for the biomass measurements in full-scale GAC filters. The authors would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the Canadian Water Network and the Canada Research Chairs program.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 5 • May 2013
Pages: 603 - 611
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 19, 2012
Accepted: Oct 24, 2012
Published online: Oct 26, 2012
Published in print: May 1, 2013
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