Rolando Fabris

Comparison of NOM character in selected Australian and Norwegian drinking waters.

Observations from many countries around the world during the past 10-20 years indicate increasing natural organic matter (NOM) concentration levels in water sources, due to issues such as global warming, changes in soil acidification, increased drought severity and more intensive rain events. In addition to the trend towards increasing NOM concentration, the character of NOM can vary with source and time (season). The great seasonal variability and the trend towards elevated NOM concentration levels impose challenges to the water industry and the water treatment facilities in terms of operational optimisation and proper process control. The aim of this investigation was to compare selected raw and conventionally treated drinking water sources from different hemispheres with regard to NOM character which may lead to better understanding of the impact of source water on water treatment. Results from the analyses of selected Norwegian and Australian water samples showed that Norwegian NOM exhibited greater humic nature, indicating a stronger bias of allochthonous versus autochthonous organic origin. Similarly, Norwegian source waters had higher average molecular weights than Australian waters. Following coagulation treatment, the organic character of the recalcitrant NOM in both countries was similar. Differences in organic character of these source waters after treatment were found to be related to treatment practice rather than origin of the source water. The characterisation techniques employed also enabled identification of the coagulation processes which were not necessarily optimised for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal. The reactivity with chlorine as well as trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) of the treated waters showed differences in behaviour between Norwegian and Australian sources that appeared to be related to residual higher molecular weight organic material. By evaluation of changes in specific molecular weight regions and disinfection parameters before and after treatment, correlations were found that relate treatment strategy to chlorine demand and DBP formation.

Removal of humic acid using TiO2 photocatalytic process--fractionation and molecular weight characterisation studies.

The photocatalytic removal of humic acid (HA) using TiO2 under UVA irradiation was examined by monitoring changes in the UV(254) absorbance, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, apparent molecular weight distribution, and trihalomethane formation potentials (THMFPs) over treatment time. A resin fractionation technique in which the samples were fractionated into four components: very hydrophobic acids (VHA), slightly hydrophobic acids, hydrophilic charged (CHA) and hydrophilic neutral (NEU) was also employed to elucidate the changes in the chemical nature of the HA components during treatment. The UVA/TiO2 process was found to be effective in removing more than 80% DOC and 90% UV(254) absorbance. The THMFPs of samples were decreased to below 20 microg l(-1) after treatments, which demonstrate the potential to meet increasingly stringent regulatory level of trihalomethanes in water. Resin fractionation analysis showed that the VHA fraction was decreased considerably as a result of photocatalytic treatments, forming CHA intermediates which were further degraded with increased irradiation time. The NEU fraction, which comprised of non-UV-absorbing low molecular weight compounds, was found to be the most persistent component.

Absorbance spectroscopy-based examination of effects of coagulation on the reactivity of fractions of natural organic matter with varying apparent molecular weights.

Absorbance spectra of fractions of natural organic matter (NOM) with varying apparent molecular weights (AMWs) were examined in this study. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) was employed to obtain AMW distributions for three Australian water sources which represented low- and high-dissolved organic carbon (DOC) surface waters and a source with highly degraded NOM. These waters were coagulated with alum and other coagulants. Effects of coagulation on AMW distributions were quantified based on an absorbance slope index (ASI) calculated using NOM absorbance measured at 220, 230, 254 and 272 nm. This index can be calculated for any AMW fraction of NOM. Similarly to SUVA(254), ASI values decrease consistently in coagulated waters and are correlated with trihalomethane yields. Comparison of ASI indexes in different water sources indicates the presence of both common trends and differences indicative of NOM site-specificity.

Multi-wavelength spectroscopic and chromatography study on the photocatalytic oxidation of natural organic matter.

The effect of TiO2 photocatalytic oxidation on the natural organic matter (NOM) properties of two Australian surface waters were quantified using UV-vis spectroscopy, high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) with a multi-wavelength UV detector, liquid chromatography with organic carbon detector (LC-OCD), and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) analyses. Both the UV absorbance at wavelengths greater than 250 nm and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content decreased significantly with treatment, although complete mineralization of NOM could not be achieved. Multi-wavelength UV detection of HPSEC analysis was shown to be useful to display further changes to NOM composition and molecular weight profiles because the organic molecules was transformed into compounds that absorb weakly at the typical detection wavelength of 250-260 nm. The multi-wavelength HPSEC results also revealed that photocatalytic oxidation yields by-products with a low aromaticity and low molecular weight. The LC-OCD chromatograms indicated that low molecular acids and neutral compounds remained after photocatalytic oxidation. Those groups of compounds did not seem to contribute significantly to the formation of trihalomethanes.

A Study on the Removal of Humic Acid Using Advanced Oxidation Processes

Abstract Humic acid (HA) removal using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) was investigated, particularly UVA/H2O2 and photo Fenton‐like process (UVA/Fe(III)/H2O2). Changes in the UV254 absorbance, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), apparent molecular weight (AMW) distribution, and the Trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) of the organics were monitored. UVA/Fe(III)/H2O2 based process was found to be effective in removing more than 80% DOC and 90% UV254 absorbance. Differences in the reduction profiles of AMW distributions for UVA/Fe(III)/H2O2 based process and UVA/H2O2 process were observed, with the latter showing preferential removal of a certain molecular weight range. Selected samples were then fractionated into four components: very hydrophobic acids (VHA), slightly hydrophobic acids (SHA), hydrophilic charged (CHA), and hydrophilic neutral (NEU). The HA used is found to consist mostly of VHA fraction that is very susceptible to AOP treatments. The results illustrate that the degradation process occurred via the fragmentation of VHA fraction to form SHA, CHA, and NEU fractions.

Evaluation of chitosan as a natural coagulant for drinking water treatment.

Chitosan, a natural biopolymer, was evaluated for its ability to be used as a coagulant to treat water for potable use both in isolation and in combination with other water treatment technologies, specifically ion-exchange and activated carbon. Chitosan was found to be very effective for particle removal at doses far below those required for equivalent turbidity removal by inorganic coagulants. However in the water sources tested, chitosan was not particularly efficient for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal when applied as the sole treatment step. When applied as the final clarification stage of a multi-step treatment process, chitosan exhibited limited turbidity reduction due to specific flocculation requirements. This combination of treatment technologies was also unable to further reduce secondary water quality parameters, such as disinfectant demand and trihalomethane (THM) formation.

Prediction of DOM removal of low specific UV absorbance surface waters using HPSEC combined with peak fitting

High performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) is used in water quality research primarily to determine the molecular weight distribution of the dissolved organic matter (DOM), but by applying peak fitting to the chromatogram, this technique can also be used as a tool to model and predict DOM removal. Six low specific UV absorbance (SUVA) source waters were treated using coagulation with alum and both the source and treated water samples were analysed using HPSEC. By comparing the molecular weight profiles of the source and treated waters, it was established that several DOM components were not effectively removed by alum coagulation even after high dosage alum treatment. A peak-fitting technique was applied based on the concept of linking the character (molecular weight profile) of the recalcitrant organics in the treated water with those of the source water. This was then applied to predict DOM treatability by determining the areas of the peaks which were assigned to removable organics from the source water molecular weight profile after peak fitting, and this technique quantified the removable and non-removable organics. The prediction was compared with the actual dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal determined from jar testing and showed good agreement, with variance between 2% and 10%. This confirmed that this prediction approach, which was originally developed for high SUVA waters, can also be applied successfully to predict DOC removal in low SUVA waters.

Effect of increasing bromide concentration on toxicity in treated drinking water

Research is increasingly indicating the potential chronic health effects of brominated disinfection by-products (DBPs). This is likely to increase with elevated bromide concentrations resulting from the impacts of climate change, projected to include extended periods of drought and the sudden onset of water quality changes. This will demand more rigorous monitoring throughout distribution systems and improved water quality management at water treatment plants (WTPs). In this work the impact of increased bromide concentration on formation of DBPs following conventional treatment and chlorination was assessed for two water sources. Bioanalytical tests were utilised to determine cytotoxicity of the water post disinfection. Coagulation was shown to significantly reduce the cytotoxicity of the water, indicating that removal of natural organic matter DBP precursors continues to be an important factor in drinking water treatment. Most toxic species appear to form within the first half hour following disinfectant addition. Increasing bromide concentration across the two waters was shown to increase the formation of trihalomethanes and shifted the haloacetic acid species distribution from chlorinated to those with greater bromine substitution. This correlated with increasing cytotoxicity. This work demonstrates the challenges faced by WTPs and the possible effects increasing levels of bromide in source waters could have on public health.

Roles of coagulant species and mechanisms on floc characteristics and filterability

In full scale water treatment operation, the rapid filtration process, as the last step of solid-liquid separation, is largely influenced by floc characteristics. In this study, aluminium sulphate (alum) and nano-Al13 were investigated to understand the influence of coagulant species on the formation and filterability of flocs. At neutral pH, it was found that nano-Al13, a high MW polymer, showed better floc filterability than alum. This is because of the densely compacted and well-distributed size flocs from nano-Al13, even though floc sizes of alum were generally bigger. Al specie distributions of the two coagulants at different pH levels were compared by using electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS) to further elucidate the reasons for the superiority of nano-Al13 in floc filterability. Depolymerisation/re-polymerisation of nano-Al13 occurred as pH changed, and Al species from nano-Al13were more abundant than that from alum, especially for the high molecular weight (MW) oligomers such as Al11, Al12, Al13 and Al14. Under the charge neutralisation mechanism, higher MW Al species was found to improve coagulation performance and floc filterability. In addition, breakage resistance and regrowth ability of nano-Al13 was better than alum, at weak acid condition. Flocs formed by the charge neutralisation mechanism readily regenerated after being thoroughly broken up. The floc regrowth ability of nano-Al13 at high shear rates (200 rpm and 300 rpm) was much better than at low shear and better than any shear applied to alum., and the flocs after breakage at 200 rpm and 300 rpm also showed better filterability than other conditions.

Drought to flood: A comparative assessment of four parallel surface water treatments during the 2010–2012 inflows to the Murray–Darling Basin, South Australia

Four treatment processes; conventional coagulation, magnetic ion exchange (MIEX)/coagulation, with and without granular activated carbon (GAC), and membrane treatment combining microfiltration (MF) and nanofiltration (NF), were operated in parallel using the same source water from the Murray-Darling basin in South Australia. During the two year study, high levels of natural organic matter and turbidity arising from floods affecting the Murray-Darling basin in 2010-2012 challenged the four processes. The comparative study indicated that all four processes could effectively meet basic water quality guidelines of turbidity and colour despite challenging source water quality but that the more advanced treatments improved overall organic and bacterial removal. Interestingly, the high organics and turbidity arising from the floods resulted in improved treatment efficiency for all treatments incorporating coagulation to the extent that, despite flood conditions, treated water quality could remain comparatively constant provided that the process was operated and optimised effectively.