Simultaneous TOC and Ammonia Removal in Drinking-Water Biofilters: Influence of pH and Alkalinity
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 8
Abstract
A bench-scale biofiltration study was conducted to investigate the potential benefits of adjusting water pH and alkalinity as a simple water quality control on biofilter efficacy in terms of organic carbon removal, ammonia removal, and head loss development. Two biofilter columns were tested at pH values between 6.0 and 10.0 with low and high alkalinity levels of 25–50 and , respectively. Total organic carbon (TOC) removal was 67% at the lower pH range tested (6.0–7.5), and then decreased as the pH increased to an observed low of 31% removal at pH 10. Ammonia removal demonstrated the opposite trend, with a low of 13% removal at pH 6.0, 48% at pH 7.5, and greater than 90% at pH 9–10. An assessment of the available dissolved oxygen (DO) indicated it may have been a limiting factor in complete ammonia removal. Changes in alkalinity demonstrated a modest impact on biofilter activity, i.e., TOC, ammonia removals, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. Overall, pH 7.5 demonstrated an optimum condition for water quality and head loss control with 67% and 48% removal in terms of TOC and ammonia, respectively, and with the lowest head loss development.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada for funding this project. The authors also thank the members of the Basu Research Group that supported the project, particularly Sahil Dhawan, Chamathka Varushawithana, Ons Battour, and Umar Hafeez.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 8 • August 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 27, 2019
Accepted: Mar 9, 2020
Published online: May 28, 2020
Published in print: Aug 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 28, 2020
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