Efficacy of two chemical coagulants and three different filtration media on removal of Aspergillus flavus from surface water

Aquatic fungi are common in various aqueous environments and play potentially crucial roles in nutrient and carbon cycling as well as interacting with other organisms. Species of Aspergillus are the most common fungi that occur in water. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the efficacy of two coagulants, aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride, used at different concentrations to treat drinking water, in removing Aspergillusflavus, as well as testing three different filtration media： sand, activated carbon, and ceramic granules, for their removal of fungi from water. The results revealed that both coagulants were effective in removing fungi and decreasing the turbidity of drinking water, and turbidity decreased with increasing coagulant concentration. Also, at the highest concentration of the coagulants, A. flavus was decreased by 99.6% in the treated water. Among ceramic granules, activated carbon, and sand used as media for water filtration, the sand and activated carbon filters were more effective in removing A.flavus than ceramic granules while simultaneously decreasing the turbidity levels in the test water samples. Post-treatment total organic carbon （TOC） and total nitrogen （TN） concentrations in the experimental water did not decrease; on the contrary, TN concentrations increased with the increasing dosage of coagulants. The filtration process had no effect in reducing TOC and TN in tested water.     

Application of sewage sludge and intermittent aeration strategy to the bioremediation of DDT-and HCH-contaminated soil

Adding organic amendments to stimulate the biodegradation of pesticides is a subject of ongoing interest. The effect of sewage sludge on the bioremediation of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane（DDT） and hexachlorocyclohexane（HCH） contaminated soil was investigated in bench scale experiments,and intermittent aeration strategy was also used in this study to form an anaerobic–aerobic cycle. Bioremediation of DDT and HCH was enhanced with the addition of sewage sludge and the intermittent aeration. The removal rates of HCH and DDT were raised by 16.8%–80.8% in 10 days. Sewage sludge increased the organic carbon content from 6.2 to218 g/kg,and it could also introduce efficient degradation microbes to soil,including Pseudomonas sp.,Bacillus sp. and Sphingomonas sp. The unaerated phase enhanced the anaerobic dechlorination of DDT and HCH,and anaerobic removal rates of β-HCH,o,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDT accounted for more than 50% of the total removal rates,but the content of α-HCH declined more in the aerobic phase.     

Transformations of particles, metal elements and natural organic matter in different water treatment processes

Characterizing natural organic matter （NOM）, particles and elements in different water treatment processes can give a useful information to optimize water treatment operations. In this article, transformations of particles, metal elements and NOM in a pilot-scale water treatment plant were investigated by laser light granularity system, particle counter, glass-fiber membrane filtration, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, ultra filtration and resin absorbents fractionation. The results showed that particles, NOM and trihalomethane formation precursors were removed synergistically by sequential treatment of different processes. Preozonation markedly changed the polarity and molecular weight of NOM, and it could be conducive to the following coagulation process through destabilizing particles and colloids; mid-ozonation enhanced the subsequent granular activated carbon （GAC） filtration process by decreasing molecular weight of organic matters. Coagulation-flotation and GAC were more efficient in removing fixed suspended solids and larger particles; while sand-filtration was more efficient in removing volatile suspended solids and smaller particles. Flotation performed better than sedimentation in terms of particle and NOM removal. The type of coagulant could greatly affect the performance of coagulation-flotation. Pre-hydrolyzed composite coagulant （HPAC） was superior to FeCl3 concerning the removals of hydrophobic dissolved organic carbon and volatile suspended solids. The leakages of flocs from sand-filtration and microorganisms from GAC should be mitigated to ensure the reliability of the whole treatment system.     

Removal of disinfection by-products formation potential by biologically intensified process

The removal of disinfection by-products formation potential(DBPFP) in artificially intensified biological activated carbon(IBAC) process which is developed on the basis of traditional ozone granular activated carbon was evaluated. By IBAC removals of 31% and 68% for THMFP and HAAFP were obtained respectively. Under identical conditions, the removals of the same substances were 4% and 32% respectively only by the granular activated carbon(GAC) process. Compared with GAC, the high removal rates of the two formed potential substances were due to the increasing of bioactivity of the media and the synergistic capabilities of biological degradation cooperating with activated carbon adsorption of organic compounds. A clear linear correlation ( R^2 = 0.9562 and R^2 = 0.9007) between DOC HAAFP removal rate and Empty Bed Contact Time(EBCT) of IBAC process was observed, while that between THMFP removal rate and EBCT of GAC was R^2 = 0.9782. In addition certain linear correlations between THMFP, HAAFP and UV254 ( R^2 = 0.855 and R^2 = 0.7702) were found for the treated water. For IBAC process there are also more advantages such as long backwashing cycle time, low backwashing intensity and prolonging activated carbon lifetime and so on.     

ORC-GAC-Fe0 system for the remediation of trichloroethylene and monochlorobenzene contaminated aquifer: 1. Adsorption and degradation

Activities at a former Chemistry Triangle in Bitterfeld, Germany, resulted in contamination of groundwater with a mixture of tdchloroethylene(TCE) and monochlorobenzene(MCB). The objective of this study was to develop a barrier system,which includes an ORC(oxygen release compounds) and GAC(granular activated carbon) layer for adsorption of MCB and bioregeneration of GAC, a Fe^0 layer for chemical reductive dechlorination of TCE and other chlorinated hydrocarbon in situ. A laboratory-scale column experiment was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of this proposed system. This experiment was performed using a series of continuous flow Teflon columns including an ORC column, a GAC column, and a Fe^0 column. Simulated MCB and TCE contaminated groundwater was pumped upflow into this system at a flow rate of 1.1 ml/min. Results showed that 17%-50% of TCE and 28%-50% of MCB were dissipated in ORC column. Chloride ion, however, was not released, which suggest the dechlorination do not happen in ORC column. In GAC column, the adsorption of contaminants on activated carbon and their induced degradation by adapted microorganisms attached to the carbon surface were observed. Due to competitive exchange processes, TCE can be desorbed by MCB in GAC column and further degraded in iron column. The completely dechlorination rate of TCE was 0.16-0.18 cm^-1, 1-4 magnitudes more than the formation rate of three dichloroethene isomers. Cis-DCE is the main chlorinated product, which can be cumulated in the system, not only depending on the formation rate and its decaying rate, but also the initial concentration of TCE.     

Particle properties in granular activated carbon filter during drinking water treatment

The elemental composition and bacteria attached in particles were investigated during granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration.The experimental results showed that trapped influent particles could form new,larger particles on GAC surface.The sloughing of individuals off GAC surface caused an increase in effluent particles in the size range from 5 to 25 μm.The selectivity for element removal in GAC filters caused an increasing proportion of metallic elements in the effluent particles.The distribution of molar ratio indicated a complicated composition for large particles,involving organic and inorganic substances.The organic proportion accounted for 40% of total carbon attached to the particles.Compared with dissolved carbon,there was potential for the formation of trihalomethanes by organic carbon attached to particles,especially for those with size larger than 10 μm.The pure carbon energy spectrum was found only in the GAC effluent and the size distribution of carbon fines was mainly above 10 μm.The larger carbon fines provided more space for bacterial colonization and stronger protection for attached bacteria against disinfection.The residual attached bacteria after chorine disinfection was increased to 10 2-10 3 CFU/mL within 24 hours at 25°C.     

Interference of iron as a coagulant on MIB removal by powdered activated carbon adsorption for low turbidity waters

Powered activated carbon (PAC) is widely used in water treatment plants to minimize odors in drinking water. This study investigated the removal of 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) by PAC adsorption, combined with coagulation using iron as a coagulant. The adsorption and coagulation process were studied through different case scenarios of jar tests. The analysis evaluated the effect of PAC dosing in the liquid phase immediately before or after the coagulant addition. Ferric sulphate was used as the coagulant with dosages from 10 to 30 mg/L, and PAC dosages varied from 10 to 40 mg/L. The highest MIB removal efficiency (about 70%) was achieved without the coagulant addition and with the highest PAC dosage (40 mg/L). Lower MIB removal efficiencies were observed in the presence of coagulant, showing a clear interference of the iron precipitate or coagulant in the adsorption process. The degree of interference of the coagulation process in the MIB removal was proportional to the ratio of ferric hydroxide mass to the PAC mass. For both cases of PAC dosing, upstream and downstream of the coagulant injection point, the MIB removal efficiency was similar. However, MIB removal efficiency was 15% lower when compared with experiments without the coagulant application. This interference in the MIB adsorption occurs potentially because the coagulant coats the surface of the carbon and interferes with the MIB coming in contact with the carbon’s surface and pores. This constraint requires an increase of the PAC dosage to provide the same efficiency observed without coagulation.     

Comparative study on the removal technologies of 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) in drinking water

Removal of 2-methylisoborneol （MIB） in drinking water by ozone, powdered activated carbon （PAC）, potassium permanganate and potassium ferrate was investigated. The adsorption kinetics of MIB by both wood-based and coat-based PACs show that main removal of MIB occurs within contact time of 1 h. Compared with the wood-based PAC, the coat-based PAC evidently improved the removal efficiency of MIB. The removal percentage of trace MIB at any given time for a particular carbon dosage was irrelative to the initial concentration of MIB. A series of experiments were performed to determine the effect of pH on the ozonation of MIB. The results show that pH has a significant effect on the ozonation of MIB. It is conclusive that potassium permanganate and potassium ferrate are ineffective in removing the MIB in drinking water.     

Nitrogen removal from coal gasification wastewater by activated carbon technologies combined with short-cut nitrogen removal process

A system combining granular activated carbon and powdered activated carbon technologies along with shortcut biological nitrogen removal （GAC-PACT-SBNR） was developed to enhance total nitrogen （TN） removal for anaerobically treated coal gasification wastewater with less need for external carbon resources. The TN removal efficiency in SBNR was significantly improved by introducing the effluent from the GAC process into SBNR during the anoxic stage, with removal percentage increasing from 43.8%49.6% to 68.8%-75.8%. However, the TN removal rate decreased with the progressive deterioration of GAC adsorption. After adding activated sludge to the GAG compartment, the granular carbon had a longer service-life and the demand for external carbon resources became lower. Eventually, the TN removal rate in SBNR was almost constant at approx. 43.3%, as compared to approx. 20.0% before seeding with sludge. In addition, the production of some alkalinity during the denitrification resulted in a net savings in alkalinity requirements for the nitrification reaction and refractory chemical oxygen demand （COD） degradation by autotrophic bacteria in SBNR under oxic conditions. PACT showed excellent resilience to increasing organic loadings. The microbial community analysis revealed that the PACT had a greater variety of bacterial taxons and the dominant species associated with the three compartments were in good agreement with the removal of typical pollutants. The study demonstrated that pre-adsorption by the GAC-sludge process could be a technically and economically feasible method to enhance TN removal in coal gasification wastewater （CGW）.     

The plant-enhanced bio-cathode: Root exudates and microbial community for nitrogen removal

A plant bio-electrochemical system(PBES) was constructed for organic pollutant removal and power generation. The bio-cathode, composed of granular activated carbon(GAC), stainless wire mesh and a plant species(Triticum aestivum L.), was able to catalyze cathodic reactions without any requirement for aeration or power input. During the 60-day-long operation, an average voltage of 516 m V(1000 Ω) and maximum power density(Pmax) of 0.83 W/m~3 were obtained in the PBES. The total nitrogen removal and total organic carbon removal in the PBES were 85% and 97%, respectively. Microbial community analyses indicated that bacteria associated with power generation and organic removal were the predominant species in the bio-cathode, and plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria were also found in the PBES. The results suggested that the coupling of plants with the GAC cathode may enhance the organicmatter degradation and energy generation from wastewater and therefore provide a new method for bio-cathode design and promote energy efficiency.     

Pilot plant study on ozonation and biological activated carbon process for drinking water treatment

A study on advanced drinking water treatment was conducted in a pilot scale plant taking water from conventional treatment process. Ozonation-biological activated carbon process （O3-BAC） and granular activated carbon process （GAC） were evaluated based on the following parameters： CODMn, UV254, total organic carbon （TOC）, assimilable organic carbon （AOC） and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon （BDOC）. In this test, the average removal rates of CODMn, UV254 and TOC in O3-BAC were 18.2%, 9.0% and 10.2% higher on （AOC） than in GAC, respectively. Ozonation increased 19.3-57.6 μg Acetate-C/L in AOC-P17, 45.6-130.6 μg Acetate-C/L in AOC-NOX and 0.1-0.5 mg/L in BDOC with ozone doses of 2 8 mg/L. The optimum ozone dose for maximum AOC formation was 3 mgO3/L. BAC filtration was effective process to improve biostability.     

Transformation mechanism and fate of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in a full-scale drinking water treatment

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) has attracted much attention in drinking water treatment due to its potential to produce nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs). This work was designed to explore the transformation and fate of DON and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in drinking water treatment. The changes of DON and formation of N-DBPs were evaluated along the water treatment route (i.e., pre-ozonation and biological-contact oxidation, delivery pipes’ transportation, coagulation-sedimentation, sand filtration, post-ozonation, biological activated carbon, ultrafiltration and disinfection) of drinking water treatment plant (DWTP). The transformation mechanism of DON was comprehensively investigated by molecular weight fractionation, three-dimensional fluorescence, LC-OCD (Liquid Chromatography-Organic Carbon Detection), total free amino acids. A detailed comparison was made between concentrations and variations of DON and DIN affected by seasons in the drinking water treatment. Regardless of seasonal variation in raw water concentration, the DON removal trends between different treatment processes remain constant in the present study. Compared to other treatment processes, pre-ozonation and coagulation-sedimentation exhibited the dominant DON removal in different seasons, i.e., 11.13%-14.45% and 14.98%-22.49%, respectively. Contrary, biological-contact oxidation and biological activated carbon negatively impacted the DON removal, in which DON increased by 1.76%-6.49% in biological activated carbon. This may be due to the release of soluble microbial products (SMPs) from bacterial metabolism, which was further validated by the rise of biopolymers in LC-OCD.     

Comparison of different combined treatment processes to address the source water with high concentration of natural organic matter during snowmelt period

The source water in one forest region of the Northeast China had very high natural organic matter (NOM) concentration and heavy color during snowmelt period. The efficiency of five combined treatment processes was compared to address the high concentration of NOM and the mechanisms were also analyzed. Conventional treatment can hardly remove dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the source water. KMnO₄ pre-oxidization could improve the DOC removal to 22.0%. Post activated carbon adsorption improved the DOC removal of conventional treatment to 28.8%. The non-sufficient NOM removal could be attributed to the dominance of large molecular weight organic matters in raw water, which cannot be adsorbed by the micropore upon activated carbon. O₃ + activated carbon treatment are another available technology for eliminating the color and UV₂₅₄ in water. However, its performance of DOC removal was only 36.4%, which could not satisfy the requirement for organicmatter. The limited ozone dosage is not sufficient to mineralize the high concentration of NOM. Magnetic ion-exchange resin combined with conventional treatment could remove 96.2% of color, 96.0% of UV₂₅₄ and 87.1% of DOC, enabling effluents to meet the drinking water quality standard. The high removal efficiency could be explained by the negative charge on the surface of NOM which benefits the static adsorption of NOM on the anion exchange resin. The results indicated that magnetic ion-exchange resin combined with conventional treatment is the best available technology to remove high concentration of NOM.     

Chlorine removal from MSWI fly ash by thermal treatment: Effects of iron/aluminum additives

The high content of alkali chlorides in municipal solid waste incineration(MSWI) fly ash limit its resource reuse due to the potential environmental risks.In this paper, with superheated steam as the gasifying agent and inducer, chlorides in fly ash were removed by thermal treatment within a moderate temperature range.Thermal treatment experiments were performed under different conditions: temperature(500–800℃), steam addition(mass ratio of steam to fly ash = 0.25–1) and residence time(0.5–3 hr).Iron and aluminum powders were added to fly ash to improve the chlorine removal efficiency.Water-soluble chlorides included Na Cl and KCl, and insoluble chlorides mainly included Ca(OH)Cl.The heating process with the addition of water steam was more efficient than that without steam in terms of the removal performance of water-soluble chlorides.The removal efficiency of soluble chlorides reached 75.25% for a mass ratio of 1:1 after 1-hr thermal treatment at 700℃.When the residence time was increased above 1 hr, the total dechlorination efficiency was not increased dramatically.Moreover, adding iron and aluminum powder into the fly ash improved the removal of water-insoluble chlorides, and the total dechlorination efficiency was increased by 11.41%–16.64%.     

A highly porous animal bone-derived char with a superiority of promoting nZVI for Cr(VI) sequestration in agricultural soils

Paddy soil and irrigation water are commonly contaminated with hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] near urban industrial areas, thereby threatening the safety of agricultural products and human health. In this study, we develop a porous and high specific area bone char (BC) to support nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and apply it to remediate Cr(VI) pollution in water and paddy soil under anaerobic conditions. The batch experiments reveal that BC/nZVI exhibits a higher removal capacity of 516.7 mg/(g?nZVI) for Cr(VI) than nZVI when normalized to the actual nZVI content, which is 2.8 times that of nZVI; moreover, the highest nZVI utilization is the nZVI loading of 15% (BC/nZVI15). The Cr(VI) removal efficiency of BC/nZVI15 decreases with increasing pH (4 – 10). Coexisting ions (phosphate and carbonate) and humic acid can inhibit the removal of Cr(VI) with BC/nZVI15. Additionally, BC exhibits a strong advantage in promoting Cr(VI) removal by nZVI compared to the widely used biochar and activated carbon. Our results demonstrate that reduction and coprecipitation are the dominant Cr(VI) removal mechanisms. Furthermore, BC/nZVI15 shows a significantly higher reduction and removal efficiency as well as a strong anti-interference ability for Cr(VI) in paddy soil, as compared to nZVI. These findings provide a new effective material for remediating Cr(VI) pollution from water and soil.     

Perchlorate removal using granular activated carbon supported iron compounds: Synthesis, characterization and reactivity

Synthesis and use of the iron compounds supported on granular activated carbon (ICs/GAC) have shown significant environmental implications for perchlorate (ClO 4 ) removal. ICs/GAC was synthesized via hydrolyzing FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O on GAC, reduced by NaBH 4 solution in polyethylene glycol 6000 and ethanol solution, dried in vacuum condition and exposed to air. Synthesized ICs/GAC was characterized using transmission electron micrograph (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). ICs/GAC was determined to be containing a large amount of FeOHSO 4 , Fe 2 O 3 and a small amount of zero-valent iron (ZVI) nanoparticles according to TEM and XPS measurements. Batch static kinetic tests showed that 97% of ClO 4 was removed within 10 hr at 90°C and 86% of ClO 4 was removed within 12 hr at 25°C, at ICs/GAC dosage of 20 g/L. The experimental results also showed that FeOHSO 4 and Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles have the function of perchlorate adsorption and play important roles in ClO 4 removal. The activation energy (E a ) was determined to be 9.56 kJ/mol.     

Influence of moderate pre-oxidation treatment on the physical, chemical and phosphate adsorption properties of iron-containing activated carbon

A novel adsorbent based on iron oxide dispersed over activated carbon(AC) were prepared, and used for phosphate removal from aqueous solutions. The influence of pre-oxidation treatment on the physical, chemical and phosphate adsorption properties of iron-containing AC were determined. Two series of ACs, non-oxidized and oxidized carbon modified by iron(denoted as AC-Fe and AC/OFe), resulted in a maximum impregnated iron of 4.03% and 7.56%, respectively. AC/O-Fe showed 34.0%–46.6% higher phosphate removal efficiency than the AC-Fe did. This was first attributed to the moderate pre-oxidation of raw AC by nitric acid, achieved by dosing Fe(II) after a pre-oxidation, to obtain higher iron loading, which is favorable for phosphate adsorption. Additionally, the in-situ formed active site on the surface of carbon, which was derived from the oxidation of Fe(II) by nitric acid dominated the remarkably high efficiency with respect to the removal of phosphate. The activation energy for adsorption was calculated to be 10.53 and 18.88 kJ/mol for AC-Fe and AC/OFe, respectively. The results showed that the surface mass transfer and intra-particle diffusion were simultaneously occurring during the process and contribute to the adsorption mechanism.     

Effect of carbon source on the denitrification in constructed wetlands

The ability of constructed wetlands with di erent plants in nitrate removal were investigated. The factors promoting the rates of denitrification including organic carbon, nitrate load, plants in wetlands, pH and water temperature in field were systematically investigated. The results showed that the additional carbon source (glucose) can remarkably improve the nitrate removal ability of the constructed wetland. It demonstrated that the nitrate removal rate can increase from 20% to more than 50% in summer and from 10% to 30% in winter, when the nitrate concentration was 30–40 mg/L, the retention time was 24 h and 25 mg/L dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was ploughed into the constructed wetland. However, the nitrite in the constructed wetland accumulated a little with the supply of the additional carbon source in summer and winter, and it increased from 0.15 to 2 mg/L in the e uent. It was also found that the abilities of plant in adjusting pH and temperature can result in an increase of denitrification in wetlands. The seasonal change may also impact the denitrification.     

Comparison of activated carbon and iron/cerium modified activated carbon to remove methylene blue from wastewater

The methylene blue(MB)removal abilities of raw activated carbon and iron/cerium modified raw activated carbon(Fe–Ce-AC)by adsorption were researched and compared.The characteristics of Fe–Ce-AC were examined by N_2adsorption,zeta potential measurement,FTIR,Raman,XRD,XPS,SEM and EDS.After modification,the following phenomena occurred:The BET surface area,average pore diameter and total pore volume decreased;the degree of graphitization also decreased.Moreover,the presence of Fe_3O_4led to Fe–Ce-AC having magnetic properties,which makes it easy to separate from dye wastewater in an external magnetic field and subsequently recycle.In addition,the equilibrium isotherms and kinetics of MB adsorption on raw activated carbon and Fe–Ce-AC were systematically examined.The equilibrium adsorption data indicated that the adsorption behavior followed the Langmuir isotherm,and the pseudo-second-order model matched the kinetic data well.Compared with raw activated carbon,the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of Fe–Ce-AC increased by27.31%.According to the experimental results,Fe–Ce-AC can be used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of MB from dye wastewater.     

Modified activated carbon with interconnected fibrils of iron-oxyhydroxides using Mn2 + as morphology regulator, for a superior arsenic removal from water

The arsenic removal efficiency of iron-modified activated carbons depends greatly on the number of available iron oxide surface sites, which are given by the surface area of the anchored particles. In this sense, aiming the generation of an adsorbent with superior arsenic adsorption capacity, we developed a protocol to anchor interconnected fibrils of iron oxyhydroxides, using Mn^2 + as a morphology regulator. The protocol was based on a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, using bituminous based activated carbon and both Fe^2 + and Mn^2 + ions in the hydrolysis solution. The elemental analysis of modified carbons revealed that Mn does not anchor to the carbon. However, when Mn is included in the hydrolysis solution, the iron content in the activated carbon increased up to 3.5?wt%, without considerable decreasing the adsorbent surface area. Under specific hydrothermal conditions, the Mn^2 + promoted the formation of iron oxide nanoparticles shaped as interconnected fibrils. This material showed a superior arsenic adsorption capacity in comparison to similar iron modified activated carbons (5?mg As/g carbon, at 2?mg As/L), attributed to the increase in quantity and availability of active sites located on the novel interconnected fibrils of iron oxyhydroxides nanostructures.