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Biological Treatment of Water Disinfection Byproducts using Biotrickling Filter under Anaerobic Conditions
Citation:
Mezgebe, B., G. Sorial, A. Hassan, AND E. Sahle-Demessie. Biological Treatment of Water Disinfection Byproducts using Biotrickling Filter under Anaerobic Conditions. Presented at American Chemical Society (ACS) 248th National Meeting, San Franciso, CA, August 10 - 14, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
A biotech process has been developed and demonstrated that effectively remove and treat volatile disinfection by-products from drinking water. The process strips low concentration disinfection by-products, such as trihalomethanes, that are formed during the chlorination of water, and effectively removes them using anaerobic bio-filtration process. The technique can convert recalcitrant waste gas pollutants into biofuel, and water treatment facilities can apply the new technology with very limited changes in their current process set up or retro-fitting building ventilations with a compact VOC treatment system. The study has demonstrated that anaerobic biofiltration has an average overall removal efficiency of 60% chloroform for optimum loading rate of 0.6 g /m3.hr. As chloroform is the major of the four THMs of DPBs formed at high concentration. This dechlorination process of the chloroform tends to convert it to methane and carbon dioxide. The use of surfactant improved the removal efficiency of chloroform up to 70% with elimination capacity of 0.17 g /m3.hr for a loading rate of 0.27 g /m3.hr. Hence, developing this novel biological technique in removing toxic gases was proven to be successful especially for chloroform.
Description:
Presentation not available. Abstract provided. The chlorination of potable water leads to the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Many of these compounds are volatile organic compounds (VOCs). DBPs may be controlled by reducing the precursors used in conventional enhanced coagulation or enhanced water softening processes. The removal of DBPs from water is challenging. Water aeration and adsorption on activated carbon are traditionally used. However, the need for innovative control technologies is becoming more and more enviable. A novel, integrated technology that uses gas strip of DBPs and treating the gas phase with a biotrickling filter (BTF) system was proposed. Computer simulation was using to determine the optimum air-to-water ratio for gas stripping of DBP.