Grantee Research Project Results
2023 Progress Report: Developing surrogate-based crediting frameworks for virus control through water recycling facilities
EPA Grant Number: R840256Title: Developing surrogate-based crediting frameworks for virus control through water recycling facilities
Investigators: Wigginton, Krista , Haas, Charles N. , Gerrity, Daniel , Pecson, Brian , Olivieri, Adam
Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
EPA Project Officer: Ludwig-Monty, Sarah
Project Period: August 1, 2021 through May 8, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2022 through July 31,2023
Project Amount: $1,239,980
RFA: Viral Pathogen and Surrogate Approaches for Assessing Treatment Performance in Water Reuse (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water Treatment
Objective:
- Generate Data: Develop robust virus LRV datasets by systematic manipulation of unit processes in high-throughput bench-scale experiments.
- Develop Models: Develop and validate mechanistic and/or numerical models for virus LRVs based on operational and water quality parameters.
- Develop Frameworks: Develop surrogate-based LRV crediting frameworks based on conservative interpretation of data and models.
- Stakeholder Communication: Facilitate industry adoption of LRV crediting frameworks through data communication and regulatory engagement.
Progress Summary:
Over the last year we have focused on expanding the dataset through literature reviews and bench-scale experiments (Objective 1) and initiating work with our Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC; Objective 4). We updated the literature reviews for studies on virus reductions through biological treatment, coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation, and sub-residual ozone. Based on results from the literature reviews and in coordination with our newly-formed RAC, we finalized the Experimental Plan for our bench scale experiments. We have conducted a number of bench-scale and pilot-scale experiments with bacteriophage surrogates and simultaneously tracked a number of water quality parameters that are candidates for surrogates. These results as well as the full-scale sampling results are filling important data gaps on virus reductions through biological and advanced water treatment steps. The measured virus reductions correlate with a number of the measured potential surrogate measurements. Our biological treatment results suggest that the virus reduction during secondary biological treatment is driven by solids adsorption and sedimentation. This suggests that predictions of virus reduction in biological treatment could be based on virus partitioning coefficients. We have begun presenting our work at national meetings.
Future Activities:
Over the next year, we will continue collecting data from our bench-scale and pilot-scale experiments. For the coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation experiments and our sub-residual ozone experiments, we will incorporate a resistant human virus, namely CVB5, in our experiments to identify the most conservative surrogates. We will then focus high-throughput experiments with the conservative surrogate virus. For both the coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation and our sub-residual ozone research, we intend to expand our experiments to additional water sources to confirm that our results collected in one water source are consistent in diverse water sources. For the biological treatment experiments, we plan to further investigate the liquid and solid association for a set of viruses in our bench-scale SBR systems. We plan to begin integrating the literature data and our newly generated data to build models that characterize and predict virus inactivation using water quality measurements and treatment process parameters.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 4 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Carbon-based advanced treatment (CBAT), direct potable reuse, indirect potable reuse, virus log removal values, sub-residual ozone, biological treatment, coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation.Progress 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.