Low Coagulant Dose Research Articles

Enhanced coagulation: a viable option to advance treatment technologies in the South African context

Laboratory and pilot scale tests were conducted to compare the effectiveness of enhanced coagulation with the more advanced technologies of ozone and granular activated carbon in treating a range of clean, eutrophic and industrially polluted waters. Particular attention was paid to the removal of disinfectant by-product precursors, organics and micropollutants that could be achieved using the various types of treatment. Reductions of up to 50% trihalomethane formation potential and between 40 and 70% organic carbon and colour were obtained using enhanced coagulation, which compared favourably with the advanced treatment processes. The more sophisticated processes were especially effective in the removal of micropollutants, this generally being in excess of 70%, which was not achievable using enhanced coagulation. pH depression using acid addition allowed for increases in organics removal at lower coagulant doses and inorganic coagulants were found to be more effective than the polymeric coagulants for organic matter removal. It was shown that the advanced treatment processes became more cost effective for larger plants and as water quality deteriorates, but for smaller water works, enhanced coagulation is cheaper.

Effect of Pre-Ozonation on Removal of Organic Matter during Water Treatment Plant Operations

Pre-ozonation altered removal of organic matter during bench or full-scale water treatment through two main effects. First, pre-ozonation directly removed organic matter by mineralization, volatilization and/or stripping reactions, improving removal in comparison to unozonated systems. On the other hand, pre-ozonation decreased the surface charge of floc formed after coagulation with hydrolyzable metal salts, hindering adsorptive removal of the anionic organic molecules by floc surfaces and/or inducing stabilized floc formation; changes that decrease removal in comparison to unozonated systems. The relative importance of the two effects determined whether pre-ozonation enhanced or hindered removal of organic matter. In most water treatment plants pre-ozonation is predicted to have an adverse effect on physical removal of organic matter at ozone doses above about 0.7 mg O3/mg TOC, while enhanced removal may occur if relatively high concentrations of volatile organic matter are present. In ancillary results, pre-ozonation hindered turbidity removal and increased the concentration of coagulant metal residuals in finished drinking water at low coagulant doses.