Abstract
The article rated removal efficiency of organic matter in the processes of sorption and sono-sorption of underground water grasped for municipal purposes. The studies were conducted in laboratory scale and verified in pilot scale at the Water Treatment Plant Tarnobrzeg-Jeziorko. In the research used granular activated carbons, ie. WD-Extra, WG-12, Norit Row 0.8 and Filtrasorb 300. The processes efficiency was evaluated on the basis of changes in the following parameters, ie.: total organic carbon (TOC), permanganate index, UV absorbance, turbidity and colour. The ultrasounds were generated by means of disintegrator Sonics&Materials VCX 130, using the sonication time of 1 and 5 minutes. The results obtained for the batch tests allowed to observe a beneficial effect of ultrasound on the efficiency of the removal of organic material in the sorption process. The combination of sonication and sorption on activated carbon increased the efficiency of the removal of organic matter by 6–37% for TOC, and 18.6–27.9% for permanganate index, depending on the sorbent used. The positive laboratory results were not confirmed in a pilot scale. In the flow conditions the sonication process did not affect the efficiency of removal of organic matter on the filter model with a bed of activated carbon.
Highlights
Effective elimination of organic contaminants is one of the major problems encountered in water purification plants
High water colour, which correlates with the elevated permanganate index value and total organic carbon (TOC; 14–20 mg C/l), indicates the presence of water of natural organic matter that may be present in combinations of complex compounds of iron and manganese
The analysis of the results obtained shows that the degree of removal of organic contaminants measured with the parameters i.e. TOC, UV absorbance, permanganate index, and the colour was different depending on the sorbent used and sonification time
Summary
Effective elimination of organic contaminants is one of the major problems encountered in water purification plants. The presence of natural organic matter (NOM), humic substances in the drinking water, is a negative phenomenon causing deterioration of organoleptic properties of water as well as contributing to the formation of by-products of disinfection and oxidation [1, 2]. The unit processes used in the process of water purification systems, i.e. coagulation, adsorption, ion exchange, chemical oxidation and membrane processes, often do not provide sufficient removal of organic matter, and their efficiency largely depends on the composition of purified water, the properties of the existing NOM fractions and the conditions of the process [3]. The need to reduce the content of organic compounds in intaken waters caused an increase in interest in the methods of connecting the unit processes with chemical agents (Fenton reaction) or physical (ultrasound, UV radiation), which are designed to effectively eliminate organic pollutants, and to reduce the amount used at reagent stations [7,8,9,10,11]
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