Grantee Research Project Results
2015 Progress Report: Small, Safe, Sustainable (S3) Public Water Systems through Innovative Ion Exchange
EPA Grant Number: R835334Title: Small, Safe, Sustainable (S3) Public Water Systems through Innovative Ion Exchange
Investigators: Boyer, Treavor H. , Zhang, Qiong
Institution: University of Florida , University of South Florida
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: August 16, 2012 through August 15, 2016 (Extended to August 15, 2017)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 16, 2014 through August 15,2015
Project Amount: $499,361
RFA: Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems (2011) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water
Objective:
The main objective of this project is to identify and test ion exchange processes that can treat groups of chemical contaminants and evaluate their sustainability. The specific objectives of this project are to (1) identify combined anion and cation exchange processes that can treat groups of chemical contaminants in an environmentally friendly way; (2) develop an ion exchange process model that includes multi-contaminant treatment and regeneration efficiency; (3) demonstrate the performance of the ion exchange treatment and regeneration processes through pilot-scale testing at a small PWS; and (4) evaluate the environmental, human health, and economic impacts of the ion exchange treatment and regeneration processes through life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC). The objectives of this proposal have not changed from the original application. Research activities for this reporting period (i.e., year 3) are devoted to research objectives 2, 3, and 4 as planned in the original application. There have been no major problems encountered, but the pilot plant testing is moving slower than anticipated. The main reason for this is because the pilot testing is being conducted at a small water treatment plant that only operates for several hours per day. As a result, this limits the run time of pilot tests. To address this problem, it is anticipated that PI Boyer will request a 1-year no-cost extension to continue the pilot plant testing beyond year 4. Results generated as part of research objectives 2, 3, and 4 are discussed in section 5.
Progress Summary:
For this reporting period, activities for research objective 2 have focused on two efforts. At the University of Florida (UF) the focus has been on development of an ion exchange process model based on completely mixed flow reactor configuration, and at the University of South Florida (USF) the focus has been on development of an ion exchange process model based on fixed bed reactor configuration. The ion exchange process models incorporate both contaminant removal and regeneration efficiency. The work by USF has been published, see Zhang et al. (2015). The work by UF is in progress and is expected to be completed in Year 4. Activities for research objective 3 have focused on planning, installing, and preliminary testing of ion exchange pilot plant. The ion exchange pilot plant was installed at Cedar Key Water Treatment Plant in Cedar Key, Florida. The pilot plant consists of two columns and associated tubing, pumps, and tanks. The columns are designed to test combined anion exchange resin and cation exchange resin. The design flow rate is 0.5 gal/min. Sodium chloride and potassium chloride will be tested for regeneration. The ratio of anion exchange resin to cation exchange resin is the main design variable that will be tested. Preliminary testing was conducted in July and August 2015 to establish testing procedures and operating conditions. The pilot plant testing is progressing slower than planned due to the operation of the Cedar Key Water Treatment Plant, which at times only operates for a few hours per day. This results in short pilot plant runs, and as a result, it is anticipated that pilot plant testing will extend beyond Year 4 as part of a no cost extension. The pilot plant testing is expected to provide very useful results in terms of the real-world performance of combined ion exchange. Activities of research objective 4 have focused on using the evaluations of life cycle environmental impacts as well as costs of conventional ion exchange systems in order to develop a model for assessing improvements to ion exchange technology. The life cycle assessments, cost assessments, and process models for both fixed bed and completely mixed bed reactors are being implemented in an integrated decision model that allows for evaluating the environmental impacts and costs of various design choices. Furthermore, the model can allow for identifying designs that provide the minimal environmental impacts and cost, given a particular scenario. The results generated to date are significant because they provide new data on the following topics: new process model for ion exchange that incorporates different reactor configurations and regeneration efficiency, pilot plant testing of combined ion exchange under realistic operating conditions, and tightly integrating LCA/LCC of ion exchange processes with process models to allow for identification of improved designs. These results serve as the basis for several manuscripts that will be submitted during year 4. In addition, the results from years 1–3 are making tangible progress toward the main objective of this project, which is to “identify and test ion exchange processes that can treat groups of chemical contaminants and evaluate their sustainability.”
Future Activities:
The following activities will take place during the next reporting period (i.e., year 4): the ion exchange process model developed as part of research objective 2 will be expanded to include other reactor configurations for treatment and regeneration and multiple contaminant removal, combined ion exchange pilot plant testing will evaluate multiple contaminant removal and regeneration efficiency under realistic operating conditions, the decision model linking the current process models of fixed bed and completely mixed bed systems with LCA/LCC to allow for identifying design changes that improve sustainability (research objective 4) will be completed, and the process model for combined cation/anion exchange systems to be developed at UF will be incorporated into the decision model during the first half of year 4. The ion exchange process model (research objective 2) will be adapted to allow for different reactor configurations for treatment (e.g., fixed bed, fluidized bed, completely mixed flow reactor) and regeneration (e.g., fixed bed, completely mixed batch reactor). The ion exchange process model will also be extended to multiple contaminants. The ion exchange pilot plant study (research objective 3) will be designed to investigate the scale-up behavior of the laboratory experiments, allow for validation of the ion exchange process model, and provide inventory data for LCA and LCC work. The integrated ion exchange and regeneration process model (research objective 2) will be linked with LCA and LCC (research objective 4) to evaluate alternate scenarios (reactor configuration, operating condition), and data on the novel ion exchange processes will be obtained from the laboratory experiments (research objective 1) and the pilot plant study (research objective 3) to allow for environmental impact assessment and identification of design that minimize environmental impact and cost (research objective 4).
Journal Articles on this Report : 4 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 37 publications | 7 publications in selected types | All 7 journal articles |
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Boyer TH. Removal of dissolved organic matter by magnetic ion exchange resin. Current Pollution Reports 2015;1(3):142-154. |
R835334 (2015) R835334 (Final) |
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Maul GA, Kim Y, Amini A, Zhang Q, Boyer TH. Efficiency and life cycle environmental impacts of ion-exchange regeneration using sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate salts. Chemical Engineering Journal 2014;254:198-209. |
R835334 (2014) R835334 (2015) R835334 (Final) |
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Zhang J, Amini A, O'Neal JA, Boyer TH, Zhang Q. Development and validation of a novel modeling framework integrating ion exchange and resin regeneration for water treatment. Water Research 2015;84:255-265. |
R835334 (2015) R835334 (Final) |
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Amini A, Kim Y, Zhang J, Boyer TH, Zhang Q. Environmental and economic sustainability of ion exchange drinking water treatment for organics removal. Journal of Cleaner Production 2015;104:413-421. |
R835334 (2015) R835334 (2016) R835334 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Drinking water, human health, toxics, life-cycle analysis, engineering, modelingProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.