Filtration Plant Research Articles

Scenario-Based Water Purification Plant LCC Analysis for Strategic Asset Management

Recently, strategic asset management (SAM) for water infrastructure has emerged in Korea and abroad. Strategic asset management requires measures to predict the costs that may occur during a facility's life cycle, addressing them with minimal maintenance costs through timely budget injections. In this study, life cycle cost (LCC) analysis was performed by setting up scenarios for maintenance costs and analysis period changes that may occur during a facility's life cycle by dividing water purification facilities into 13 sections and 42 divisions. As a result of the application of the scenario, the maintenance costs incurred by the filtering facility were maximized. In addition, as the initial repair time for each water treatment facility was advanced, maintenance costs increased from a section perspective, but items decreased from a detailed perspective. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to adjust the appropriate timing of repair and replacement processes to develop strategic asset management measures in the future. Keywords: Life Cycle Cost, Asset management, Water Purification Facility

Innovative design of the biological wastewater treatment system

A biological wastewater treatment system (BWTS), which composed of a 400 m2 biological wastewater treatment facility (BWTF) and a 100 m2 wetland landscaping lake, was designed to further treat the water quality of the recycling pond of an ecological sediment treatment plant of the Qingxi River in Qingxi Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China. BWTS was designed to treat the water of Class B of the Discharge standard of pollutants for municipal wastewater treatment plant (GB18918-2002) in the recycling pond into Class IV water of the Surface Water Environmental Quality Standard (GB3838-2002). The treatment capacity of BWTF was designed according to 1200 m3/d. The hydraulic load is 3m/d, volume load is 42 g (BOD)/(m3.d), and hydraulic retention time is 4 h. The inflow and outflow of BWTF were designed as the gravity flow without any power supply. The BWTF consists of active filtration facilities and plants with specific functions. The facility is capable of effectively filtering contaminants, especially with a very high removal efficiency of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). The BWTF has five innovative outlet control systems that will be used to further reduce the nitrogen content to prevent algae growth. At the same time, the system can also remove pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals and hydrocarbons from the water, increase oxygen content in the water and reduce BOD. The wetland landscaping lake was designed to further treat the water quality and recycling use. The surplus water is discharged into the Qingxi River by a pipe. As compared with traditional wetland treatment, BWTS has the advantages of less land occupation, high efficiency, long service life, and low operation and maintenance costs. The structure of the BWTF is similar to the raingarden, however, they have different medium mixture ratio and inflow & outflow layouts. The water of the recycling pond is transferred to the BWTF through three underground pipes with a diameter of 150 mm, then the flow goes through the layers of protection, medium and gravel, and enters the nearby wetland landscaping lake by five outlet control manholes, an open canal and an underground pipe.

Use and Quality of Bottled Water in Bahawalpur City, Pakistan: An Overview

As a basic need of human life, the place of safe potable water cannot be ignored elsewhere. Therefore, themain objective of the current study was to take an overview of the main source of water, expenditure on waterpurchasing and use quality of bottled water in Bahawalpur city. Primary data were gathered through a structuredquestionnaire during a field survey in selected five residential areas as sample sites i.e. Model town A, Model town B,Shahdrah, Satellite town, and Islami colony, while the secondary data were collected from PCRWR and a few websources. Data were gathered from 150 respondents (30 from each study site) and analyzed in SPSS 17 software byapplying descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) to get a generalized picture regarding the main source ofwater, use and quality of bottled water in the study area. Findings make it clear that majority of the respondents werefetching water from government filtration plants following the electric pumps. Moreover, various local watercompanies (e.g. Pineo, Piyas, Aquafina, Kinley, Al-Shiffa, Life Water) were also supplying water in the study area.Particularly, the use and demand for bottled water are increasing day by day as people have serious concerns on qualityrelated issues of water. Bottled water was available in different quantities from 0.5 liters to 19 liters with respectiveprices that were purchased from various departmental and medical stores or via home delivery service. But the qualityof the bottled water was not satisfactory and up to the standards. The PCRWR laboratory analysis of bottled watersamples show significant variations and alarmingly different brands i.e. Blue water, Kalash pure water and Pan Purawere found chemically and microbiologically unfit for drinking purposes. So, it is suggested that regular monitoringand quality control steps by local government in the private sector would ensure the effective and secure potable waterdeliverance.

Use and Quality of Bottled Water in Bahawalpur City, Pakistan: An Overview

As a basic need of human life, the place of safe potable water cannot be ignored elsewhere. Therefore, themain objective of the current study was to take an overview of the main source of water, expenditure on waterpurchasing and use quality of bottled water in Bahawalpur city. Primary data were gathered through a structuredquestionnaire during a field survey in selected five residential areas as sample sites i.e. Model town A, Model town B,Shahdrah, Satellite town, and Islami colony, while the secondary data were collected from PCRWR and a few websources. Data were gathered from 150 respondents (30 from each study site) and analyzed in SPSS 17 software byapplying descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) to get a generalized picture regarding the main source ofwater, use and quality of bottled water in the study area. Findings make it clear that majority of the respondents werefetching water from government filtration plants following the electric pumps. Moreover, various local watercompanies (e.g. Pineo, Piyas, Aquafina, Kinley, Al-Shiffa, Life Water) were also supplying water in the study area.Particularly, the use and demand for bottled water are increasing day by day as people have serious concerns on qualityrelated issues of water. Bottled water was available in different quantities from 0.5 liters to 19 liters with respectiveprices that were purchased from various departmental and medical stores or via home delivery service. But the qualityof the bottled water was not satisfactory and up to the standards. The PCRWR laboratory analysis of bottled watersamples show significant variations and alarmingly different brands i.e. Blue water, Kalash pure water and Pan Purawere found chemically and microbiologically unfit for drinking purposes. So, it is suggested that regular monitoringand quality control steps by local government in the private sector would ensure the effective and secure potable waterdeliverance.

Removal of pepper mild mottle virus by full-scale microfiltration and slow sand filtration plants

It is important to evaluate the removal of enteric viruses by drinking water treatment processes so that viral infection risk can be assessed and managed. However, evaluating the removal of enteric viruses by full-scale treatment processes can be challenging due to the low numbers of viruses and the presence of substances in the water samples that inhibit detection. In this study, we evaluated the removal of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) by microfiltration (MF) and slow sand filtration (SSF) at two full-scale drinking water treatment plants in Japan, quantifying virus concentrations with real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The removal of PMMoV by MF ranged from 0.0 to >0.9 log10, although concentrations were below the detection limit for half of the treated water samples. SSF removed PMMoV by up to 2.8 log10; however, the removal efficiency decreased to 0.0–1.0 log10 under cold water temperatures. Process control showed that nucleic acid extraction and qPCR efficiency were inhibited in nearly 40% of water samples. Dilution, DAX-8, and ferrihydrite treatments for purification were effective in mitigating these inhibitory effects.

Social Significance of Technical Water Purification and Treatment Plants – on the Cusp of New Functions of the technical Service Buildings of Cities

Departure from environmentally unfriendly public attitudes and the increasing awareness of environmental protection and the management of natural resources among the residents of cities lead to pro-environmental design efforts—including planning and urban-design-related ones, for the shaping of urban structures. One of the elements of cities that, on the one hand, stir public emotions and on the other constitute an inseparable element of the urban organism, are structures that provide technical services to cities. Examples of these structures include wastewater treatment and water purification plants. The goal of this article is an attempt at finding an answer to the question about what role do wastewater treatment and water purification plants currently play in the structure of Polish cities and what other roles can they play. Particular emphasis was placed on the public reception of such structures. Based on Polish cases, this reception appears to most often be either neutral or negative. The author explores the mechanism of these reactions and their causes, particularly in reference to other structures that provide technical services to cities (e.g. eco-incineration plants, whose construction is faced with intense opposition from residents in Polish conditions almost every time). The author searches for an answer to the question about the cause of public opposition to the construction of these types of structures, and whether we can—and if so, then how—prevent such public attitudes in relation to these types of structures.

Ecological City – Types of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Poland: The Influence of Technology on Space

Newly designed structures that provide technical services to cities gain new spatial forms. In terms of their functional and spatial structure they often also fulfil new, additional functions. This is possible thanks to, among other things, new technical and technological solutions. A departure from the typical approach based on merely associating engineering structures with an envelope of technical solutions of sorts, without care for architectural form, detail or site development, brings positive effects in terms of spatial relationships. In the case of pro-environmental structures this also has a functional dimension—oftentimes these structures start fulfilling additional functions, e.g. as a part of ecological education. Simultaneously, we can observe that some structures that provide the engineering infrastructure to the city gain a new architectural form, new site development of the space that surrounds them or are being equipped with new, additional functions, more frequently than others. Without a doubt, influence on which structures are being transformed in accordance with the abovementioned directions, and which remain on the sidelines of new spatial, architectural and functional solution, is exerted by the primary function of the structure—which is in itself obvious. However, within the group of structures with the same functions we can also observe significant differences. One example of this are wastewater treatment and water purification plants. The goal of this article is to find the answer to the following questions: is the form of a structure and its site development determined by various types of technological solutions in wastewater treatment and water purification plants—and if so, then in what manner? Furthermore, do differences in technology have an impact on the immediate surroundings of the plants and—on a wider scale—on the space of the city? The results of the study will advance knowledge concerning the dependencies between technological solutions and architectural form, as well as spatial relations within the functional and spatial structure of cities.

Public perception about community reverse osmosis-treated water, its acceptability, and barriers in choice of safe drinking water

Consumption of contaminated water may result in adverse health effects to the general public. A major source of drinking water in Punjab is groundwater, but there is increasing concern about the heavy metal contamination. To address the public health concern, government and private organizations installed several community reverse osmosis (RO) treatment plants to provide safe drinking water. The current study aims to assess the community perception before and after the installation of a community water treatment plant at a village in Punjab. Most of the study participants (83%) were found to be aware of the adverse health effects of unsafe drinking water but lack knowledge of metal toxicity leading to non-communicable diseases. Majority of the households (62%) use RO-treated water, whereas 38% of households prefer to use other water sources. Cost of RO water, taste, and increased distance of household from RO plant were identified as major barriers in the choice of safe drinking water. The issues can be addressed through proper information, education, and communication activities. Hence, there is a need to aware communities about water quality and sanitation, including sustainable uses of water. The study also highlights how to increase the sustainability of community RO water filtration plant. This will aid in achieving sustainable development goal six, which focuses on providing safe and affordable drinking water to all.

Antifouling effect of water-soluble phosphate glass frit for filtration plants.

The antifouling, antimicrobial, elution behavior, skin irritant, and cytotoxicity properties of water-soluble phosphate glass on stainless steel were evaluated. Water-soluble phosphate glass samples with 35% Cu (mol/mol) were prepared by altering the network modifier (Na2O, K2O) and network former (P2O5, B2O3) compositions. The materials were melted at temperatures within the range of 850-950°C. The melt was then quenched and ground into fine particles using a twin roll mill. The resulting water-soluble glasses were prepared as glass frit (size < 100μm) using a sieve. The amorphous phase was determined by X-ray diffraction and differential thermal analysis. Water-soluble glasses with a reduced Cu ion elution rate of 1.2ppm per week were formed because the chemical resistances of the formulated glasses improved as the P2O5 content decreased and the B2O3 content increased. To test its antifouling properties, the glass frit was mixed with paint and coated onto a STS316L sheet. The surface roughness was increased markedly from 1.4 to 19.2nm, increasing the specific surface area for antimicrobial activity. It was demonstrated that the proposed method was able to form noncytotoxic, nonirritant, water-soluble glasses with 99.9% antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. These results suggest that water-soluble phosphate glass on STS316L sheets could be useful in filtration plants.

Transport of Enterococcus faecalis in granular activated carbon column: Potential energy, migration, and release

An increasing number of water purification plants use granular activated carbon filtration as an advanced treatment technology. One of the main constraints of carbon filtration is bacterial leakage, which can impact public drinking water safety. In this study, Enterococcus faecalis, commonly detected in natural water, was employed as the target bacteria for investigating the mechanism of deposition and migration of bacteria in granular activated carbon medium. The repulsive barrier, secondary potential well and potential energy change curve under various conditions were depicted by DLVO theory. Moreover, the influence, including ionic strength, ionic charge and flow rate, on bacterial transport was comprehensively discussed. The Enterococcus faecalis penetration curve was in accordance with the van der Waals force and electrostatic repulsion force under different conditions. Finally, 8%–11% of Enterococcus faecalis was released into the effluent when ionic strength declined.

Water Treatment Plant Ancillary Facilities: Unsung Heroes of Hurricane Harvey

Key TakeawaysAncillary facilities on the site of water treatment facilities should not be overlooked, especially during emergency events.Prepared plant managers and engineers in the Houston area identified and corrected vulnerabilities in both primary and ancillary infrastructure well ahead of a “perfect storm.”The East Water Purification Plant's improved stormwater system played a critical role in the region's resilience and recovery, and the utility's stormwater pumps successfully prevented the plant from flooding during the event.

Waterworks in a changing climate: the R.C. Harris filtration plant, Toronto, Canada

This research paper reviews the literature in an area of engineering heritage requiring further examination, the impact of climate change on historic urban water supply systems. Many opportunities exist to enhance the sustainability of historic waterworks still in operation in order to help mediate climate change effects. This must include mitigating climate change impacts on sources of potable water, such as by implementing strategies for water-efficient landscape design, while considering possible uses of the visible elements of the system, such as water treatment plants, to draw attention to this engineering heritage’s continued and critical role. The R.C. Harris filtration plant is the main water treatment plant for the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, drawing water from Lake Ontario. This iconic ‘Palace of Purification’ has been in continuous use since 1941 and was declared a National Historic Civil Engineering Site in 1992. In 2013, it was still producing nearly 40% of Toronto’s tap water. Examination of this plant serves to illustrate the interconnection of a system’s historic design and its water source’s watershed as heritage, to discuss expected impacts of climate change and explain not only some of the possibilities for mitigation, but also eventual necessary and challenging adaptations to changing treatment needs.

Flow behavior of perchlorate from a source lake to a water supply tap following fireworks displays

Abstract Perchlorate is an oxidizer used in fireworks. Though fireworks displays are held over Lake Biwa, which supplies water to Kyoto, the city's water treatment process lacks the ability to remove perchlorate. This study investigated perchlorate contamination in source and tap water resulting from a fireworks display. During 2016, the perchlorate concentration in the source water increased to 22.3 μg/L during the 19 hours following the display and then decreased to &amp;lt;0.5 μg/L during the 43 hours following the display. The perchlorate concentration in the tap water increased to 13.6 μg/L during the 35 hours following the display, and then gradually decreased. To evaluate the state of mixing through the water treatment process, a model for chemical reactors was applied to concentration time-courses in the source and tap water. The model showed that perchlorate was dispersed homogeneously by stirring as the water flowed downstream through the waterway and through the water purification plant.

Prediction of full-scale filtration plant performance using artificial neural networks based on principal component analysis

To obtain standard water quality is one of the most crucial issues must be discussed. To get higher water quality, the separation and purification processes must be applied. In this study, 44 water quality parameters were monitored between May 2018 and February 2019 in order to evaluate the efficiency of a full-scale filtration plant which uses particulate-, micro- and ultrafiltration processes as a pre-treatment and applied reverse osmosis as the post-treatment. A crucial research question of this study was thus whether the Ultrafiltration (UF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems performance about the elimination of monitored parameters. The most striking results from the monitoring study reveal that the pre-treatment processes are not suitable for separation of uni/polyvalent ions. The hypothesis that will be tested for both systems; the UF process was efficient for microbial and nitrogen parameters and the RO was efficient for separation of anions and metals that are identified priority hazardous substance. Then, the purification performance of a filtration plant was evaluated using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) that used to reduce the number of input water parameters. PCA components were used as input in the model and according to the results of Pearson Correlation Analysis, the conductivity parameter which was directly or indirectly related with almost all parameters was used as output. Consistency of created ANN model with real data was 98.758% and mean square errors was 0.00293.

Bacteriological quality of bottled water obtained from Mexico City small water purification plants: Incidence and identification of potentially pathogenic nontuberculous mycobacteria species

The aim of this study was to determine the bacteriological quality of bottled water samples obtained from small purification plants located in Mexico City and to identify potentially pathogenic nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species found in these samples. All 111 samples analyzed were positive for aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) and 46 (41.4%) did not comply with Mexico's Official Guidelines. Sixty-nine (62.1%) and 23 (20.7%) water samples were positive for total coliforms (TC) and fecal coliforms (FC), respectively. A total of 81 (72.9%) of the water samples exceeded the maximum allowed limit stipulated in the guideline. Thirty-three (29.7%) of the purified water samples were positive for NTM, being recovered a total of 40 isolates. These NTM isolates were identified using three molecular markers (hsp65, rrs and rpoB genes) which corresponded to the fast-growing mycobacteria M. chelonae (n = 12), M. porcinum (n = 8), M. senegalense (n = 5), M. abscessus (n = 4), M. septicum (n = 4), M. wolinskyi (n = 3), M. mucogenicum (n = 2), M. fortuitum (n = 1) and M. sp. (n = 1). In seven purified water samples, two different NTM species were isolated simultaneously. Overall, these results showed that most of the purified bottled water samples analyzed in this study had unsatisfactory microbiological quality and some harbored NTM associated with illness. Our data could hasten health authorities to intensify efforts in the routine monitoring of activities in the purified bottled water industry in order to supply safe and healthy water to the public.

QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER IN MINING AREAS

The paper presents the results of a drinking water quality study in towns located in the mining areas of the Republic of Bashkortostan, The Russian Federation. The objects of the study were underground water supply sources and water distribution networks of the towns of Uchaly, Sibay, and Baimak. In total, 30 water wells were examined, and five water samples were collected from the water distribution network in each town. The water quality indicators were pH, solid residue, total hardness, copper content, zinc content, iron content, and manganese content. The water quality in water distribution networks corresponded to the permissible limits according to environmental and sanitary regulations, except for the increased iron contentprobably due to corrosion of water supply pipelines. The water quality in non-centralized water supply (wells) in some areas failed to meet the sanitary standards. Priority indicators of water pollution were increased hardness and mineralization, high content of iron and manganese. To provide the residents with high-quality drinking water, it is proposed to make a complete inspection of centralized and non-centralized water sources not only within the towns, but also in the neighbouring communities. It is necessary to install filtration plants, primarily to reduce the iron content, in roder to bring the water taken from the wells for household and drinking purposes to the standard quality.

Geospatial mapping and drinking water quality status of fluoride endemic hilly District Doda (J&amp;K), India

In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the drinking water quality status of various surface and ground water sources and the supplied water from two water filtration plants supplying drinking water to Doda town and its adjoining areas by using Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WQI) and geospatial mapping techniques. Doda is fluoride endemic district of Jammu and Kashmir State where groundwater fluoride concentration upto 7.0 mg/L is recorded. Water samples collected from about twenty two drinking water sources from two blocks of Doda district (Bhagwah and Doda blocks) were analyzed at pre-determined locations marked using handheld GPS(Montana 650). These locations formed the attribute database for the study based on which fluoride distribution maps have been derived and integrated with Arithmetic WQI through Inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation technique. Prepared thematic maps have confirmed the vulnerability of the drinking water sources and water supply systems in the study area, thus, posing a serious public health concern. Based on the WQI, water quality status of Beoli filtration plant (WQI=43.26) falls under the category of good water whereas that of Moochan filtration plant (WQI=157.41) has been classified as unfit for drinking. The geochemical evolution of the water studied using Piper’s diagram has shown mixed type of hydrochemical facies. Coefficient of correlation(r) between different parameters has indicated significant correlation between several parameters. The study urges the concerned government authorities to make provisions for providing safe drinking water to public which is free of turbidity and low in fluoride concentration.

Adsorption of Paracetamol in Hospital Wastewater Through Activated Carbon Filters

In recent years, pharmaceutical products have been causing a serious environmental problem in hospital wastewater and water purification plants. The elimination of these pollutants is difficult due to their resistance to biological degradation. Paracetamol has been detected in higher concentrations in hospital wastewater than in other buildings. Activated carbons are a good material for removing paracetamol from hospital wastewater. One of the starting materials to obtain activated carbons is kenaf, which is an easy plant to cultivate. To study the elimination of paracetamol from hospital wastewater by activated carbon, the textural and chemical characterization of activated carbon, as well as the kinetic study and the analysis of the paracetamol adsorption mechanism by the adsorbent, have been carried out. The activated carbon samples studied are micro-mesoporous, with high specific surface values. The chemical composition with presence of oxygen groups favours the adsorption process. The adsorption kinetics were adjusted to a pseudo-second order model. The adsorption mechanism followed the intraparticular diffusion model, carried out in two stages: a fast first stage on the surface of the adsorbent and a slow one inside the pore. Based on the kinetic study, the use of this type of carbon is a good application for the removal of paracetamol from hospital wastewater.

Load-deformation analysis on a slope at Gunung Pulai water treatment plant, Sultan Ibrahim Reservoir

The Sultan Ibrahim Reservoir located at Gunung Pulai catchment area was previously managed by the Singapore’s Public Utilities Board before the Board handed over the reservoir to Johor State Government under current management of the Syarikat Air Johor. At the present time, the Syarikat Air Johor is operating a Gunung Pulai Water Treatment Plant consisted of two main plants, i.e. Water Sedimentation Plant and Water Filtration Plant for treating raw water from the reservoir before supplying to the consumers. However, the integrity of water treatment plant’s structure should be checked due to several cracks were observed, and moreover the structure was built over more than 90 years. The formation of the cracks in the Gunung Pulai Water Treatment Plant may be induced by movement of the sloping area to the south-east of Water Sedimentation Plant. The calculated Factor of Safety (FOS) via sensitivity analysis for cross sections of original slope indicates any decrease in friction angle and/or cohesion strength or increase in horizontal seismic load will further cause instability on slope. Also, the results of Load-Deformation analysis on cross sections of original slope show significant vertical displacement and horizontal displacement on the bottom and both sides of sedimentation tanks, respectively. The results indicate applied structural and water loads significantly affect deformation at both vertical and horizontal directions which could have contributed to FOS < 1 in slope stability analysis.

A Review on Ground Water Quality Assessment of Akkalkuwa Region, Nandurbar (Maharashtra)

Due to increase population, advanced agricultural practices, industrialization, man-made activity, water is being highly polluted with different contaminants. Water is a vital resource for human survival. This research paper examines the quality of municipal corporation supplied water, bore-well, jamia filter plant and hand pump of akkalkuwa taluka of nandurbar maharshtra, India. Sample from five different places were collected in the month of march,2019. The physio-chemical and biological parameters was analyzed with reference to I.S/B.I. S and W.H.O. recommendation. During the study period various water quality parameters were analyzed pH, Hardness, Conductivity, turbidity, Dissolved oxygen, Chemical oxygen demand, Alum dose, Total solids, Biological oxygen demand, Alkalinity, Residual chlorine. The present study concluded that the total solids and residual chlorine and BOD in water sample is above the permissible limit but total solids is above the acceptable limit and below the permissible limit, and remaining those parameters under the limits.