Theoretical Analysis Of Ozone Disinfection Performance In A Bubble Column

Modelling the efficiency of ozone disinfection in a bubble column was completed using two kinetic approaches: an axial dispersion model (ADM) and a back-flow cell model (BFCM). Using these models, the effects of flow directions and mixing on disinfection performance were examined. Both models predicted the concentration profiles of dissolved ozone in water equally well. However, the BFCM could be solved much more easily than the ADM with regard to the degree of inactivation without the solution being plagued by divergence.     

Principles of Ozone Oxidation and Disinfection Design

The efficiency of ozone for different purposes can be determined by different laboratory tests. It is necessary to use a specific test for each aim of ozonation. Consequently, the design of commercial ozone–water contact systems can be determined in relation with the purpose of ozonation: virucide effect, oxidation of pollutant, clarification improvement or wastewater disinfection.     

The Development Of An Ozone Contact Tank Simulation Model

Anglian Water (AW) operates ozone facilities as a treatment stage at all its surface water sources. The main ozone treatment stage takes place after filtration in multi-compartment concrete ozone contactors. These have two stages of ozone gas injection via ceramic bubble diffusers and two decay stages.

To enable AW to gain a better understanding of the contact tank performance, a computer simulation model incorporating Computational Fluid Dynamics and ozone process modeling was developed in conjunction with AEA Harwell. The model was calibrated using site data from Alton WTW. The results were used to improve the tank design and to optimize the ozone dose; this resulted in improved performance and a significant reduction in ozone dose.     

Evaluation of Empirical Process Design Relationships for Ozone Disinfection of Water and Wastewater

A research program was undertaken to examine the dose-response of Escherichia coli ATCC 11775 in ozone demand-free phosphate buffer solution and in a high quality secondary wastewater effluent with a total organic carbon content of 8 mg/L and a chemical oxygen demand of 26 mg/L. The studies were conducted in benchscale batch reactors for both water types. In addition, studies using secondary effluent also were conducted in a pilot-scale, semi-batch reactor to evaluate scale-up effects. It was found that the ozone dose was the most important design parameter in both types of water. Contact time was of some importance in the ozone demand-free water and had no detectable effect in the secondary effluent.

Pilot-scale data confirmed the results obtained at bench-scale for the secondary effluent. Regression analysis of the logarithm of the E. coli response on the logarithm of the utilized ozone dose revealed that there was lack-of-fit using the model form which has been used frequently for the design of wastewater disinfection systems. This occurred as a result of a marked tailing effect of the log-log plot as the ozone dose increased and the kill increased. It was postulated that this was caused by some unknown physiological differences within the E. coli population due to age or another factor.     

Development Of An Ozone Disinfection Contactor Using A Physical Scale Model

This paper presents the design of a 1/5 scale model study of a five-stage counter-current ozone disinfection contactor. The selection of appropriate scaling laws is discussed and model test runs are presented and compared with the preliminary rule-of-thumb design. Simple modifications to the internal baffle design were tested leading to improved residence time characteristics.     

Ozone Disinfection of Sewage in a Static Mixer Contacting Reactor System on a Plant Scale

Results of our earlier laboratory study on ozone contacting systems in a continuous flow mode identified that the ozone disinfection process is limited by the mass transfer rate (7). The main controlling factor is the mass transfer efficiency rather than the contact time of the contactor in determining the effect of disinfection. By applying these concepts, we suggested a new ozone disinfection technique of using a static mixer as the contactor to substitute for a conventional bubble column designed with contact time.     

Wastewater Disinfection by Ozone: Influence of Water Quality and Kinetics Modeling

Wastewater disinfection by ozone was investigated at pilot scale on different effluents. The organic matter (COD and TOC) was shown to have the biggest influence on the ozone demand of the effluents. Disinfection of fecal indicators could be modeled as the reaction on a double population. The presence of more resistant microorganisms results in the need for higher treatment doses and a tertiary filtration when the effluent has to meet the stringent Title 22 standard. Eventually, the high virucidal power of ozone makes it very attractive when viruses are targeted.     

Use Of Static Mixer For Oxidation And Disinfection By Ozone

Ozone is used in drinking water treatment as a biocide, as an oxidant and as a pretreatment in order to improve the performance of subsequent processes. Increasing concern over the quality of drinking water has led to a number of new stringent regulations in the control of chemical and microbiological contaminants. Disinfection deals with the concept of “CT”, which is the need to maintain a certain minimum concentration for a given time. Under ideal laboratory conditions, it is 0.4 mg O₃/L for 4 min. In practice, since the method for the CT determination has not been finalized by the EPA, “T” can be the minimum detention time of 90% of total flow, and “C” can be a measured ozone residual at the outlet of cells of the contactor. New standards for micropollutants in drinking water imply an optimization of the ozonation step, by improving the ozone transfer from gas to water, and the control of the detention time as well as ozone residual within the contactor.

All these considerations have led us to use static mixers to transfer ozone into water. This process enables us to control the ozone concentration in water and detention time. It is a very simple system, with very low maintenance requirements due to the lack of moving parts. Civil engineering is minimized. A pilot scale study is presented here. It took place at the Méry-sur-Oise water treatment plant, on a pilot plant working at 8-12 m³/h. It is composed of a static mixer for the transfer of ozone from gas to liquid, linked to an air lift to separate gas from liquid, providing ozonated water.

The optimization of transfer was achieved by studying the impact of water flow, gas flow and ozone concentration in the gas. It is possible to reach 90% of transfer in less than 15 s. Headloss (ΔP) across the mixer is a function of gas and water flows and remains economically very acceptable as 0.15 bar for 12 m³/h.

Atrazine removal was studied using a static mixer, an air lift and a contact pipe 80-m long, providing an optimum contact time phase, working as a plug flow reactor. Ozone and H₂O₂/O₃ treatments were compared. The maximum reduction of atrazine concentrations (e.g., for an infinite contact time) is a function of the amount of transferred ozone, but H₂O₂ influences the kinetics of the reaction. In the presence of H₂O₂ with a ratio of H₂O₂ to O₃ of 0.4 w/w, maximum elimination is reached in 2 min 30 s.

The effect of such treatments on environmental bacteria also was followed. A counting of total germs at 20°C showed a decrease of 1- to 3-logs 10 after 1 min 30 s of contact time for about 2 mg/L of transferred ozone. No significant difference between treatments with or without H₂O₂ was shown. The same conclusions were obtained from heterotrophic plate counts (37°C) and epifluorescence countings.     

The Evaluation Of Ozonation and Chlorination On Disinfection By-Product Formation for a High-Bromide Water

High-bromide raw water was ozonated or chlorinated with and without hydrogen peroxide to study the effect of the disinfectants on the disinfection by-product (DBP) formation. Less bromate was formed when ozonation was made at the ambient pH of 5.8 as compared to ozonation at pH 7, showing the effectiveness of pH reduction in controlling the bromate formation. When chlorine dose was 1 mg/L instead of 2.3 mg/L, the trihalomethane formation was 50 μg/L instead of >100 μg/L, and the proportional distribution of the trihalomethanes was similar. The use of ozone for this water could provide good results in respect of the DBP formation.     

Advanced Treatment For Municipal Wastewater Reuse In Agriculture. III - Ozone Disinfection

Results of a pilot (100 m³/h) investigation on ozone disinfection of municipal tertiary effluents for reuse in agriculture carried out at West Bari (S. Italy) treatment plant are presented. Among dosages, contact times and advanced treatment schemes investigated it was demonstrated that ozone disinfection results in the achievement of the WHO microbial guideline (1,000 CFU/100ml for Fecal Coliforms) for unrestricted wastewater reuse in agriculture of both clarified and clarified-filtered municipal secondary effluents; it is very effective towards Pseudomonas aeruginosa, rather effective towards Giardia lamblia and substantially ineffective towards Cryptosporidium parvum and it forms limited amount of DBP (approx. 350 ppb of total aldehydes). O&M costs amount to 37 Euro/1000m³.     

Practical Design Of A New Ozone Contactor: The Deep U-Tube

This paper presents a practical design of a new ozone contactor (the deep U tube). It is a based on the modeling of upward and downward bubbly flow of air and water, derived from a balanced equation of continuity and momentum. Two hydrodynamic parameters are estimated: the void fraction and the frictional pressure drop. Experimental data carried out on full-scale plant and pilot plant are compared to theoretical results predicted by the model. Flow of the liquid phase is performed from tracer tests in order to determine the detention time which is introduced into the CT concept for disinfection. The influence of flow model shows that a plug flow reactor is more efficient than a CSTR; the DUT is close to plug flow.     

Reactivity Studies In The Ozonolysis Of Pollutants Using A Perforated Spinning Disc Reactor To Enhance Mass Transfer

A perforated spinning disc ozone contactor is described with reference to its use as an absorber with simultaneous chemical reaction.

Greatly enhanced mass transfer coefficients k_L are measured whilst simultaneously maintaining low ozone loss. Comparisons of k_L and volumetric coefficient, k_L a values, are made with more conventional packed or bubble columns.

Acetic acid, 2-propanol and 4-nitrophenol, representing a wide reactivity range, are used to elucidate the applicability of rotating contactors in effluent treatment. It has been possible to study the effects of surface activity on mass transfer with subsequent reaction and to generate design data for the next generation of rotating contactors.     

Ozone Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Escherichia coli,Shigella sonnei and Salmonella typhimurium in Water.

Based on the properties of ozone as a strong germicidal agent, inactivation kinetics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei and Salmonella typhimurium towards ozone in water were studied. The values of 90% inactivation (t₉₀) obtained varied from 0.20 minutes (2.4 mg/L, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922) to 8.33 minutes (0.39 mg/L, Pseudomonas aeruginosa wild strain). First order inactivation kinetics with respect to both the concentrations of ozone and microorganisms were found, resulting an overall second order inactivation kinetics. The ATCC strains showed to be the most sensitive toward ozone among all. Meanwhile, the environmental isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most resistant and Escherichia coli the most sensitive wild strain. The longest time required to achieve total inactivation was 35 minutes.     

A Bench-Scale,Two-Phase Reactor For Ozone Treatment: Feasibility Studies For High Strength Wastes

A batch reactor was designed to study the effects of ozone on a complex industrial waste. The objective of the batch reactor was to allow a large mass of ozone to be applied to the waste without losses associated with gas sparging and assure better accuracy than expected from continuously bubbled gas systems. The reactor consisted of two parts: a 478.6 mL cylindrical section for holding effluent and a 1.078 L spherical section for the ozone/oxygen gas mixture. Ozone concentrations were measured at ambient temperature and pressure using the UV absorption method. Ozone diffusion into a reactive test solution in the static condition (during ozone charging of the spherical chamber) was limited to 0.5 mg of the 1,500 mg passed through the spherical chamber.

The batch reactor was shown to be capable of 100% ozone mass transfer during the contacting operation. The unit was shown to be a suitable device for evaluation of the effects on high ozone demand solutions.     

Evaluation of Growth Media for the Recovery of Escherichia Coli from Ozone-Treated Water by Membrane Filtration

The standard membrane filtration methods for total coliforms and fecal coliforms were evaluated for their ability to recover injured E. coli ATCC^R 11775, from ozone-treated water. m-T7 Agar was considered as an alternative growth medium at 35°C and 44.5°C. Seven batch experiments revealed that m-T7 agar recovered significantly (Pr 0.05) more E. coli than Standard Methods at each incubation temperature. m-T7 Agar incubated at 35°C had the best overall recovery of ozonated E. coli. The results were consistent with other reports in the literature regarding the inadequacy of standard selective growth media for the enumeration of injured coliform bacteria in water.     

Effects Of Ozone On Kraft Process Pulp Mill Effluent

Effluent from a kraft process pulp mill was studied in a batch reactor for ozone doses between 50 and 200 mg O₃/L to identify the relative suitability of ozone application locations in the treatment process and see the improvements in biotreatability of wastewaters from a kraft process pulp mill. Laboratory acclimatized seed were used for BOD tests for ozonated and unozonated samples. The inhibitory effects were minimized by using optimum dilutions. The studies were divided into three major sections: characterization of mill effluent; ozone system calibration, and reactor design; and ozonation of mill effluent. Seed for Biochemical Oxygen Demand tests were acclimatized in batch units for primary, bleach and secondary effluents separately. The inhibitory effects which were noted with unacclimatized seed, were reduced by using laboratory acclimatized seed and optimum dilution which were determined during the characterization phase.

The batch reactor designed for the studies consisted of a cylindrical section for holding effluent, and a top spherical section for ozone/oxygen mixture. The reactor proved to be effective for controlling ozone dose. The variation in the applied ozone dose was less than 5 mg/L.

Bleach and primary effluents were treated with 50 and 100 mg/L ozone doses. Duplicate experiments were conducted for these effluents. Secondary effluent was studied for 50,100,150 and 200 mg/L ozone doses. Six replicate experiments were conducted for 50 and 100 mg/L ozone doses, whereas two experiments were carried out for 150 mg/L and one experiment for 200 mg/L ozone dose.

The results were analyzed using 't' test for paired experiments and ANOVA table for statistical confirmation. Residuals were plotted to check the assumptions of constant variance and normal distribution. The results indicated that 50 and 100 mg O₃/L effectively removed color from bleach effluent and primary effluent, but did not significantly change the BOD. Ozone was found to be effective for secondary effluent, as BOD₅ was increased by 65% for 50 and 100% for 100 mg O₃/L doses. The corresponding reduction in color was 62% and 82%, respectively. K_e and L_o values for the BOD equation were calculated by using the non-linear least square method for the BOD equation, giving joint confidence regions for the calculated parameters. It was concluded that ozone is most effective for the removal of color and the increase of BOD in secondary effluent.     

Evaluation Of Ozone/Biological Treatment For Disinfection Byproducts Control And Biologically Stable Water

Impacts of ozonation followed by biological filtration on the formation of disinfection byproducts and the production of biologically stable water were studied on pilot plant and full-scale at two U.S. locations (Oakland, CA and Tampa, FL). Also evaluated is a method to estimate bacterial regrowth potential by comparing it to assimilable organic carbon (AOC) measurements. At both locations, settled plant water is diverted to the pilot plant where it is split into two parallel trains. One train is ozonated, then Filtered through anthracite/sand dual media followed by GAC or through a GAC/sand dual media filter. The other train (control) is identical except that the water is not ozonated. The full scale plants have sedimentation, ozonation, then GAC/sand filtration.     

Use Of Ozone For The Treatment Of A Combined Urban And Industrial Effluent: A Case History

This paper describes the treatment of highly colored urban wastewater containing a high percentage of industrial effluents and a significant concentration of detergents. The kinetics of detergent ozonation were established through a series of pilot tests including variation of the ozone concentrations in the carrier gas. The results obtained concerning the optimum conditions of ozonation - treatment dose and contact time - have been used for the design of an industrial ozonation plant.     

Effects Of Ozone On The Production Of Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Carbon (BDOC) During Water Treatment

This article deals with the oxidation effect of ozone on the increasing fraction of biodegradable organic matter with the “ozotest” method, a laboratory technique which simulates the effect of ozonation and allows a complete oxidation assessment. Ozone treatment was performed on river water samples and sand filter effluent samples. Ozone consumption, reduction of UV absorbance and BDOC formation were monitored with applied ozone doses from 0 to 10 mg/L and with contact times from 0 to 60 min. The BDOC formation was optimum at an applied ozone dose of 0.25-0.5 mg O₃ per mg DOC (contact time = 5 min) corresponding to apparition of traces of residual ozone and maximum UV reduction. Maximum ozone consumption, UV reduction and BDOC formation occurred simultaneously during the first two minutes of treatment. Concerning BDOC formation, applied ozone dose showed a greater effectiveness than contact time. For the same quantity of consumed ozone, a short contact time associated with a high ozone dose was preferable to a long contact time and a low ozone dose.     

Effects Of Ozone As A Biocide In An Experimental Cooling Water System

Experimental work on a laboratory recirculating apparatus, for the simulation of a cooling water system has yielded information on the effectiveness of ozone as a biocide for biofouling control. Biofilms were developed within glass tubes of the simulated cooling water system using filtered mainswater and Pseudomonas fluorescens as the test bacteria. A summary of the results obtained is presented and an interpretation of these results relating to the full-scale application of ozone is provided.

Ozonated water was produced using a contact system specifically designed for these tests by Ozotech Ltd. Ozone residual concentrations in the order of 0.1 mg/L were found to be capable of removing 80-99% of the biofilm in single applications. However, effectiveness of ozone was dependent on morphology, thickness and age of the biofilms. Intermittent application of ozone, using residual concentrations < 0.1 mg/L, was found to be capable of weakening the biofilm, but a minimum period of 3-h was required for effective control.

The fluid velocity was found to affect the rate and amount of biofilm removed. The effects of fluid velocities in the range 0.5-2.5 m/sec were examined. In general, the higher the velocity the greater the initial rate of removal and the percentage of the biofilm removed; this suggested that ozone action was mass transfer dependent.

The effect of ozone on bacterial cell structure was investigated using scanning electron microscopy techniques. Changes in cell structure were revealed after contact with ozone and residuals above 0.4 mg/L were required for 100% kill of bacterial suspensions.

In conclusion, the effectiveness of ozone for full-scale application will vary depending on the morphology of the biofilm, the velocity of the fluid and the ozone dose applied. An ozone dosing regime for commercial application is suggested.