Particle Ripening, Removal and Breakthrough in Drinking-Water Filtration: Implications for the Capture of Cryptosporidium and Giardia Cysts

An increasing number of reported outbreaks of Cryptosporidiosis, associated with the water supply, have led to an upsurge in interest in particle analysis in drinkingwater treatment. This paper describes recent observations of rapid-gravity filter performance using particle-size distribution analysis. Experimental rapid sand filters were constructed and operated using a suspension of PVC particles, and samples for particle analysis were collected at several depths and various times during the filter cycle. Ripening and early breakthrough of Cryptosporidium oocyst size particles were observed during the study, and 1 β particles exhibited the worst capture efficiency. Flow disturbances were found to reduce particle-capture efficiency including Cryptosporidium and Giardia cyst sizes.     

Characteristics of particle removals in a compressible media filter system

The ability to adjust the properties of the filter medium by altering the degree of the medium compression is important because the different porosities in media affect the ideal filter performance according to the properties of influent wastewater. This study therefore focused on the particle size distribution (PSD) of compressible media filter (CMF) effluents depending on the compression ratio (0–30%) and the filter bed depth (Layers 1–5) in order to evaluate the CMF performance. The results showed that the removal efficiency for particles larger than 10 µm was more than 90% while that for particles smaller than 10 µm was less than 85% of removal efficiency. From the power law fit, substantial decreases in the number of large‐sized particles were observed in the PSD. Particle removal efficiencies increased along with the average compression ratio increase. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that each layer in the bed had a different role in the filter performance, and it was found that a filter bed of about 0.45–0.60 m would be needed for the production of the desired effluent quality in this study. The detachment phenomenon was observed in particles larger than 5 µm, especially in 5–15 µm particles.     

Effect of the filter feeder Daphnia on the particle size distribution of inorganic colloids in freshwaters

To quantify the effect of the filter feeder Daphnia on the aggregation of mineral particles, temporal changes in the particle size distribution of inorganic colloids were experimentally determined both in the presence and in the absence of Daphnia in water samples of Lake Brienz, Switzerland, an oligotrophic lake rich in suspended inorganic colloids. The results obtained show that daphnids favour the aggregation of mineral colloids, but only for particle sizes above the Daphnia filter mesh size. However, the number concentration of particles smaller than the Daphnia filter mesh size simultaneously increases in the presence of the filter feeder, suggesting either the break-down of existing aggregates or the aggregation of particles with initial sizes below the measured size range. The density of daphnids in this lake is currently too low to have any significant effect on the fate of inorganic colloidal particles as compared with aggregation due to physical processes of particle collision. However, in more productive water bodies where Daphnia is more abundant, they may play a significant role.     

动态光散射测试结果对悬浮液浓度依赖性的研究

在简单介绍动态光散射法测粉末粒径原理的基础上,通过用动态光散射法测试纳米ZnO粒径,研究了ZnO悬浮液浓度对测试结果真实性的影响。发现ZnO悬浮液浓度为1%时,测试结果较真实可靠。     

pH值对工程废浆稳定、絮凝及固结特性的影响

在影响药剂真空预压法处理工程废弃泥浆效果的诸多因素中,pH值是其中最重要的因素之一。文中关于pH值对工程废弃泥浆稳定、絮凝和固结特性的影响进行了研究。首先探讨不同pH值时废浆中土颗粒Zeta电位的变化规律;然后研究泥浆不同pH时絮凝剂APAM的最佳添加量和不同pH值调节方式时废浆的絮凝效果;最后通过固结试验分析了在絮凝剂APAM添加量相同情况下不同pH值导致废浆的不同固结特性。研究结果表明：①土颗粒表面Zeta电位的绝对值随废浆pH值的增大而减小,颗粒粒径随pH值的减小呈增大趋势,特别是在酸性条件下,废浆中土颗粒更容易发生聚沉,小于0.01mm的土颗粒多变为0.01~0.02mm的土颗粒;②不同pH值的废浆在达到最佳絮凝状态时各条颗分曲线相差不大,但是APAM的最优添加量随着废浆的pH值变化而变化;③pH值的不同调节方式对废浆的絮凝效果有较大影响,相同pH值时,采用CaO调节方式得到的废浆絮体粒径要比采用NaOH调节方式得到的废浆絮体粒径要大;④固结试验表证明pH值接近中性泥浆絮体的固结系数最大,建议在药剂真空预压处理工程废弃泥浆时将pH值调节至中性。研究成果对药剂真空预压乃至压滤、离心法处理工程废弃泥浆实践均具有一定的实际指导意义。     

密度计法颗粒分析试验后水筛法研究

通过对密度计法颗粒分析试验的后水筛法和先水筛法进行比较试验，综合分析两种模式下粒径分布曲线存在差异的原因，探寻后水筛法的可行性。试验结果表明：后水筛法中未滤出的大颗粒在悬液中下沉，影响1min时比重计读数，并夹带粘粒下沉，对试验结果造成误差；相同土样的两组粒径分布曲线具有很好的相关性，因此，后水筛法在经过准确的粘粒含量校正后，才能应用于生产性试验。     

Particles and associated metals in road runoff during snowmelt and rainfall

This study analysed road runoff in northern Sweden with respect to the concentrations of and the loads of particles in different size fractions (4-6, 6-9, 9-15, 15-25, 25-40, and 40-120 mum) between a snowmelt period and a rainfall period, as well as during events within each period. There are also comparisons of the transport of different particle sizes between the two periods and during events within the periods and discussions on how different metals are associated with the varying particle sizes. The results showed, on average, eight times higher concentrations and five times higher loads of particles during the snowmelt period compared to the rain period for all particle size intervals. Using a t-test with 14 degrees of freedom, at a 90% and 95% confidence level, the mean- and the event mean concentrations of all particle size intervals were higher during the melt period compared to the rain period. Also, the particle concentrations for both periods decrease as the particle size increases. During the snowmelt and rainfall period, important factors influencing the concentrations and loads were the availability of material, the intensity of the lateral flow for the transport of the particles, and, additionally, for the rain period, the length of dry weather in between events. During the melt period, investigated particle sizes and TSS were highly correlated with total concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn. During the rain period, the correlations between total metal concentrations and the different particle sizes were not as significant.     

活性炭滤池中颗粒物数量和粒径分布的研究

结合水厂水处理工艺及活性炭深度处理装置,探讨了生物活性炭滤池出水中颗粒物数量的变化及粒径分布规律。结果表明,在过滤周期内活性炭滤池出水颗粒物数量与浊度会出现相似的变化规律,二者之间相关性较好,但活性炭滤池出水浊度的变化滞后于颗粒物数量的变化。生物活性炭滤池过滤初期,滤后水中大于2μm的颗粒物数量可达到111个／mL,50min后数量降至50个／mL以下。生物活性炭滤池出水中大于2μm的颗粒物主要由粒径为2～7μm的颗粒物组成。     

A numerical study on the effects of particle size distribution on run-out distance of granular flow

The discrete element method is a powerful numerical tool widely employed in granular flow simulations. To reduce computational costs, either monodisperse granular models or models with a limited number of particle sizes are used to estimate the risk of sediment-related disasters. This highlights the need for a thorough understanding on the effects of particle size distribution on the accuracy of granular simulations. In this study, a series of granular flow simulations was conducted with different particle size distributions. The results clearly indicate that the run-out distance strongly depends on the number of particle sizes and is underestimated in the conditions employed by the monodisperse granular model. The longest run-out distance was observed in case that the bidisperse granular model was employed, whereas run-out distance tends to a constant value when polydisperse granular model was employed. Because particle size segregation was observed during the flow, a series of vibration simulations was also conducted to estimate the degree of the size segregation. It was shown that each granular model has an inherent degree of size segregation. From the results of the granular flow simulations and vibration simulations, it was confirmed that the inherent degree of the size segregation clearly affects the run-out distance.     

工程废浆处理过程中药剂真空预压法的防淤堵机理

选择有机高分子絮凝剂APAM作为药剂,进行室内药剂真空预压处理废浆的模型试验,探讨处理过程中药剂真空预压法的防淤堵机理。试验结果表明：①经药剂真空预压法处理工程废浆含水率由176%降至约40%,而经普通真空预压处理后工程废浆含水率由176%降至135%,药剂真空预压法处理效果非常明显|②药剂真空预压中采用了120μm、180μm和300μm三种不同等效孔径的过滤膜,发现三种过滤膜均能取得较好的效果,且结果相差不大,证明在药剂真空预压中改变等效孔径对防淤堵的影响不明显,其能够防淤堵主要是由于加入药剂改善了废浆性质|③加入药剂APAM后,由于吸附架桥作用土颗粒的粒径会增大而形成絮凝团聚体,在真空预压过程中发挥了很好的防淤堵作用,真空预压结束后连接团聚体的长链会断开,颗粒分布又恢复到接近原始废浆的状态|④常规反滤准则不再适用于药剂真空预压法,这可能与团聚体形状呈不规则的链状有关,仅仅用粒径指标并不能真实反映反滤特性。     

The impact of increased loading rate on granular media, rapid depth filtration of wastewater

The impact of loading rate on tertiary filtration of wastewater was studied using a pilot-scale, dual-media, rapid depth filtration system. Loading rates of 12.2, 15.3, 18.3, 21.4, and 24.4m/h were tested on parallel filter columns treating the same coagulated secondary wastewater to determine the impact on removal of turbidity, particles (2-15 microm), total coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, and MS2 bacteriophage, as well as on the particle deposition profile in the filter bed. Increasing the loading rate from 12.2 to 24.4m/h decreased the removal efficiencies for all metrics. The observed impact of loading rate on particle removal was similar to that predicted by a clean-bed filtration model, although the model significantly underestimated the removal efficiencies of the smaller particles. For two loading rates, 12.2 and 18.3m/h, the effect of coagulant dose was also studied; the negative impact of loading rate on removal efficiency was eliminated by increasing the coagulant dose for the higher loading rate, which also resulted in removal of particles deeper in the filter bed. For all conditions studied, loading rate had no observable impact on the ability to disinfect filter effluents with chloramines. The results of this research indicate that loading rates higher than those typically used in tertiary filtration can produce acceptable effluent quality, and support a regulatory approach based on filter effluent turbidity.     

The influence of hydraulic loads on depth filtration

The influence of hydraulic loads on the detachment of particles from the collector surface or from previously retained particles was observed in a packed glass beads column. A hydraulic shock load (i.e., 20% increase of flow rate) was applied after 4 h of particle attachment at a constant flow rate. A single type of particle suspension (Min-U-Sil 5, nearly pure SiO₂) and three different chemical conditions (pH control, alum and polymer destabilization) were utilized. The magnitude of particle detachment increased with increasing particle size for non-Brownian particles because more shear force was applied to large particles due to their large surface area. More favorable particles (i.e., particles with small surface charge) were detached to a lesser extent than unfavorable particles during the hydraulic shock loads application. This phenomenon can be caused by floc strength. In some cases, when the zeta potential of influent particles was relatively high, the magnitude of detachment of bigger particles (e.g., 4.0-5.0 μm) was less than that of smaller particles (e.g., 3.0-4.0 μm). This can be attributable to the breakup of detached flocs as an individual particle. It was also found that the shape of the curve relating the magnitude of particle detachment and particle size can be concave, linear, or convex depending on physicochemical conditions such as floc strength.     

Fine fraction filtration test to assess geotextile filter performance

The proper design of the openings of a geotextile filter requires a balance between providing upstream soil particle retention and avoiding excessive geotextile clogging. While this balance can be reasonably achieved quite well for most soil types and hydraulic conditions, it is different when the flowing liquid is turbid (containing a large amount of suspended particles) and/or under high, or dynamic, hydraulic gradients. This paper presents a test method to assess the behavior of individual soil particles in a slurry form as they approach, encounter and interact with a geotextile filter.

The paper describes the concept and details of the test method, called the fine fraction filtration (F³) test, and presents data on five different geotextiles which were evaluated using three different soil types. It was seen that soils with particle sizes larger than the geotextile's opening structure can build a stable upstream network; soil with particle sizes smaller than the geotextile's opening structure can pass through the geotextile; and intermediate particle size conditions can give rise to excessive clogging. An additional series of tests were conducted using the same five geotextile filters but now using a pre-placed upstream soil filter above the geotextiles. Clogging conditions generally occurred albeit within the soil column rather than within the geotextile.

The F³ test is felt to be a meaningful test for those conditions where the upstream soil particles are not in intimate contact with the geotextile filter. In such cases, the test method can probably be considered to be a performance test. For other, more typical soil placement conditions, the test method can be considered to be a very challenging indext test.     

Ultrafine particle removal by residential heating,ventilating, and air‐conditioning filters

This work uses an in situ filter test method to measure the size‐resolved removal efficiency of indoor‐generated ultrafine particles (approximately 7–100 nm) for six new commercially available filters installed in a recirculating heating, ventilating, and air‐conditioning (HVAC) system in an unoccupied test house. The fibrous HVAC filters were previously rated by the manufacturers according to ASHRAE Standard 52.2 and ranged from shallow (2.5 cm) fiberglass panel filters (MERV 4) to deep‐bed (12.7 cm) electrostatically charged synthetic media filters (MERV 16). Measured removal efficiency ranged from 0 to 10% for most ultrafine particles (UFP) sizes with the lowest rated filters (MERV 4 and 6) to 60–80% for most UFP sizes with the highest rated filter (MERV 16). The deeper bed filters generally achieved higher removal efficiencies than the panel filters, while maintaining a low pressure drop and higher airflow rate in the operating HVAC system. Assuming constant efficiency, a modeling effort using these measured values for new filters and other inputs from real buildings shows that MERV 13–16 filters could reduce the indoor proportion of outdoor UFPs (in the absence of indoor sources) by as much as a factor of 2–3 in a typical single‐family residence relative to the lowest efficiency filters, depending in part on particle size.     

Particle loss: An initial investigation into size effects and stress-dilatancy

Drained triaxial tests have been performed to explore the effect of particle loss on shearing behaviour and critical states in granular mixtures. The mixtures comprise Leighton Buzzard sand (d₅₀ = 0.8 mm), to which was added 15% by mass of salt particles of different nominal sizes: 0.063 mm, 0.25 mm and 0.5 mm. Shearing behaviours before and after particle loss (by dissolution) were compared. A good fit is observed between the test data and a stress-dilatancy relationship for the post-dissolution tests, highlighting the ability of the stress-dilatancy analysis as a means to interpret the effects of particle loss on shearing. It was noted that critical state strength parameter M is determined by the post-dissolution grading regardless of size of removed particle. However, the duration of contractant volumetric strain increased with the larger removed particles (0.25 mm & 0.5 mm) even when initial specific volumes were virtually identical. It is suggested that a loose volumetric state is reached if the sand particle network is initially disrupted by the amount and/or size of salt particles, which following dissolution results in structural or fabric phenomena that are not reflected in scalar volumetric measures such as specific volume.     

微细颗粒物在过滤介质中过滤特性的CFD-DEM模拟

基于CFD-DEM（离散单元法）方法模拟了微细颗粒物在纤维过滤介质中的气-固两相流动特性,模拟时,充分考虑了颗粒群组成、粒径分布、颗粒间及颗粒与纤维间的反弹作用以及颗粒团聚等因素,分析了纤维过滤中颗粒群的运动特性和微细颗粒的沉积形式。结果表明：采用CFD-DEM模拟过滤介质的过滤过程以及微细颗粒在介质表面沉积过程和形式的方法是方便且可行的,模拟结果与前人的实验观测结果基本吻合;在过滤过程中,表面过滤的贡献较大,大部分的颗粒在介质表面即被捕集,进入到介质内部的部分粒径较小的颗粒经深层过滤作用而被捕集;大量的颗粒捕集是由颗粒-颗粒捕集机制来实现的;不同颗粒体系的颗粒群其过滤效果也有所差别,对于本文所研究的过滤介质模型,多颗粒体系的过滤效率比单一的颗粒体系的过滤效率高20%左右。     

Size, number and chemical composition of nanosized particles in drinking water determined by analytical microscopy and LIBD

In this paper we comprehensively characterized particles in drinking water originating from a lake water source. We focused on particles smaller than a few hundred nm. Several analytical techniques were applied to obtain information on number concentration, size distribution, morphology and chemical composition of the particles. Morphological information was obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Two types of particles, spherical aggregates up to a few tens of nm and elongated fibers were identified. Similar structures were also observed in transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. A size distribution of the particles was obtained by applying image analysis (IA) tools on the TEM images. IA results showed an exponential increase of the particle number concentration down to 40 nm, which is the lower detection limit of our setup. The total number of particles down to 10 nm and the average particle diameter were determined with the laser-induced breakdown detection (LIBD) method. The results were in good agreement with the TEM-IA data and showed a total number concentration of roughly 10(8) particles/mL in the purified water. The carbon of the particles was investigated with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), which revealed that most particles were organic matter; the C-1s spectra were typical for dissolved organic matter. The methods were applied to characterize the particles from two different drinking waters treated with different methods (conventional vs. ultrafiltration (cut-off 100 kDa)). The results showed that the particle number density following ultrafiltration was lower by a factor of 5-10, compared to conventional treatment. However, the average particle diameter in the finished water of both treatment trains was roughly the same.     

Size distribution and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aerosol particle samples from the atmospheric environment of Delhi, India

Ambient aerosol particles were collected using a five-stage impactor at six different sites in Delhi. The impactor segregates the TSPM into five different sizes (viz. > 10.9, 10.9-5.4, 5.4-1.6, 1.6-0.7, and < 0.7 μm). Samples collected were chemically analyzed for all the five size ranges, for the estimation of 16 different PAHs. The particle size distribution of PAHs was observed to be unimodal in nature with the highest peak towards the smallest size aerosol particle (< 0.7 μm). The five size ranges were categorized into two broad categories viz. coarse (> 10.9 + 10.9 to 5.4 + 5.4 to 1.6 μm) and fine (1.6 to 0.7 + < 0.7 μm). It was observed that the dominant PAHs found were pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(ghi)perylene and benzo(b)fluoranthene for both the coarse and fine fractions. Source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been carried out using principal component analysis method (PCA) in both coarse and fine size modes. The major sources identified in this study, responsible for the elevated concentration of PAHs in Delhi, are vehicular emission and coal combustion. Some contribution from biomass burning was also observed.     

Characteristics of two types of stabilized nano zero-valent iron and transport in porous media

Nano-scale zero-valent iron (NZVI) has been shown to be suitable for remediating contaminated aquifers. However, they usually aggregate rapidly and result in a very limited migration distance that inhibits their usefulness. This study employed poly acrylic acid (PAA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to synthesize two types of stabilized styles of NZVI with finer sizes (namely PNZVI and CNZVI). The mobility of stabilized NZVI was also demonstrated on the basis of transport in porous media. The results show that the PNZVI has a uniform particle size of 12 nm. However, tens of CNZVI particles with diameters of 1-3 nm were packed into secondary particles. Both the PNZVI and the CNZVI exhibited amorphous structures, and the stabilizer was bound to particle surfaces in the form of bidentate bridging via the carboxylic group, which could provide both electrostatic and steric repulsion to prevent particle aggregation. This study also proposes presumed stabilized configurations of PNZVI and CNZVI to reasonably illustrate their different dispersed suspension types. On the basis of the breakthrough curves and mass recovery, this study observed that the mobility of PNZVI in classic Ca²⁺ concentration of groundwater was superior to CNZVI. Nonetheless, the mobility of CNZVI would be decreased less significantly than PNZVI when encountering high Ca²⁺ concentrations (40 mM). Presumably, increasing the pore flow velocity would enhance the mobility of stabilized NZVI. Overall, the results of this study indicate that PNZVI has the potential to become an effective reactive material for in situ groundwater remediation.     

黄土显微结构特征与震陷性

黄土的动力学性质与其微观结构有着密切的关系,而黄土显微结构特征因生成地质环境和应力历史的不同有较大差别,其中,架空孔隙的大小,颗粒粒径分布,颗粒类别均是黄土产生残余应变的主要内因,它们直接影响到黄土结构的力学稳定性。本文基于西安、宝鸡、山西、兰州、通渭、永登、会宁等地黄土的电镜照片,用图像处理软件获取相关参数,并将其与震陷系数进行对比分析研究,结果发现,架空孔隙面积,粒径偏斜度和粒径分布峰值与黄土震陷系数具有较好的相关性。为此,作者将架空孔隙面积与粒径偏斜度之和定义为表征黄土震陷性大小的“微结构特征参数”。进而结合对不同地区黄土孔隙排列方式、颗粒特点及其胶结程度等的分析,按照震陷性强弱提出了较为简单的黄土微结构分类方法。