Microbial Responses after Disinfectant Change to Ozone in a Full-Scale Distribution System

Ozone is a promising alternative disinfectant when the concentration of organic carbon is high in the source water. The microbial responses to primary disinfectant change from monochloramine to ozone in a full-scale distribution system were investigated. Several water quality parameters including heterotrophic bacteria and a new parameter, growth potential (GP), were determined from the finished water and at three different distribution system locations before and after switching to ozone for a period of 12 months. The GP assesses the potential of the water to sustain growth of bacteria. The literature suggests that ozonation will result in a higher biodegradable organic carbon concentration and will therefore stimulate bacterial growth. Biodegradable organic carbon concentration (BDOC) and HPC increased but GP decreased after ozonation during the study period. In order to exclude seasonal effects, the data from the same seasons of the previous year were compared in the statistical analyses. Our findings showed that among the water quality parameters, HPC, disinfectant dose and total organic carbon (TOC) concentration showed statistically significant differences between the two years (paired t-test, p<0.05). When ozone was used as primary disinfectant the TOC was 1.5 times higher than when chloarmine was used, but the HPC and disinfectant dose were lower. Thus the switch of the primary disinfectant to ozone did not increase bacterial growth. At the lower dose, the disinfectant dose was effective enough to control bacterial regrowth in the distribution system during the study period.     

Assessment of the Efficacy of Intermittent Ozone Disinfection

An example of intermittent disinfection occurs in dental-unit water systems (DUWS), which are disinfected only for a specified time per each day. The efficacy of intermittent ozonation was evaluated using a laboratory-scale, membrane-based ozone disinfection system (MBODS), which delivers bubbleless dissolved ozone to the DUWS. A new tool - the weighted Ct value, or C_w, - was applied to interpret heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) data. To achieve the American Dental Association's (ADA's) criterion (<200 CFU/mL), the required ozone dosage was C_w > 0.07 mg–O₃/L. However, even the highest ozone dosage (C_w > 0.130 mg/L) allowed biofilm HPC to persist at over 10⁴ CFU/cm². Although a higher C_w killed planktonic and biofilm bacteria more thoroughly, it also generated more biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC). Thus, this research illustrates the inherent trade-off of intermittent ozonation: a higher C_w kills more bacteria during the ozonation period, but creates more BDOC that fosters biofilm regrowth when ozonation is off.     

Effects Of Ozone-Hydrogen Peroxide Combination On The Formation Of Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Carbon

The effects of ozone and ozone/hydrogen peroxide on BDOC formation were studied with the “Ozotest” method, a laboratory technique that permits the assessment of oxidation efficiency. Oxidation treatments were performed on river water and sand filter effluent samples. Ozone consumption, reduction of UV absorbance, and BDOC formation were monitored during the experiments. The ratio of 0.35-0.45 mg H₂O₂ per mg O₃ used to degrade pesticides also was optimal for the oxidation of organic matter. BDOC formation versus ozone dose curves with ozone alone or ozone/peroxide system were similar. BDOC formation was optimum at an applied ozone dose of 0.5-1 mg O₃/mg C (contact time = 10 min). The ozone/peroxide system yielded lower BDOC values than ozone alone, a phenomenon related to differences in byproducts generated by the two oxidative systems. Moreover, reduction of the concentration of DOC was higher with ozone/hydrogen peroxide than with ozone alone. For both oxidant systems, BDOC formation occurred during the first minute of treatment.     

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 Ozonation on AOC Content of Humic Finnish Groundwater

The effects of ozonation on assimilable organic carbon (AOC) content of humic groundwater were investigated in batch experiments on three different groundwaters used as drinking water in Finland. All water samples had quite high concentrations of iron (range 2–10 mg/L) and manganese (range 0.1–0.2 mg/L) and therefore combined ozonation and filtration is a possible water purification method. The ozone dosage used varied from 0 to 16.6 mgO₃/L (ΔO₃/TOC?=?0–1.6). The ozone treatment increased the AOC concentration in the groundwater samples to different degrees. For example, an ozone dose of 3.9 mg/L increased the AOC concentration in different water as follows: from 49 μg/L to 55/L, from 7 μg/L to 119 μg/L and from 23 μg/L to 226 μg/L.     

水厂深度处理工艺中臭氧投加量探讨

臭氧生物活性炭深度处理是降低水中微量有机物的关键净化工艺。为确定臭氧的合理投加量,利用小试装置开展了臭氧氧化对砂滤池出水的研究。结果表明:随着臭氧投加量的增加,CODMn、总有机碳(TOC)的去除率均有所增加,但幅度弱于UV254;当臭氧的投加量达到3.0 mg/L时,臭氧氧化后的生物可降解溶解性有机碳(BDOC)可增加30%以上,UV254与TOC的比值趋于稳定;砂滤出水的溴离子浓度为100~300μg/L的情况下,当臭氧的投加量达到3.5 mg/L时仍未检测到溴酸盐。综上所述黄浦江原水水厂深度处理工程运行时,臭氧的投加剂量控制在2.5~3.5 mg/L是安全合理的。     

Influence of disinfection on bacterial regrowth in pilot distribution system

A correlation between heterotrophic plate count (HPC) and chloramine residual in pilot distribution systems (PDSs) was investigated. The data was derived from an AWWARF (the Awwa Research Foundation) and Tampa Bay Water tailored collaboration project to determine the effect of blending different waters on distribution system water quality. Seven different finished waters were produced from surface, ground, or simulated brackish water sources on site and fed to 18 independent PDSs, either as a single finished water or as a blend of several finished waters. Significantly higher numbers for PDS HPC were observed below 0.06 mg/L of combined chlorine residual. Changes in assimilable organic carbon (AOC) levels between influent and effluent of the PDSs increased as disinfectant dosage decreased in distribution systems. Significant differences between input and output AOC (ΔAOC) were observed when the chloramine residual was less than 1.0 mg/L, and particularly when less than 0.5 mg/L. High HPC counts often occurred when chloramine residual was less than 0.5 mg/L, regardless of AOC levels or AOC stability. However AOC instability could occur at high influent AOC levels even in the presence of residual greater than 0.5 mg/L, with corresponding high HPC counts.     

Formation and Removal of Biodegradable Ozonation By-Products during Ozonation-Biofiltration Treatment: Pilot-Scale Evaluation

An ozonation-biological filtration pilot-scale study was performed to evaluate the formation and removal of biodegradable ozonation by-products. The formation of aldehydes and ketoacids was found to be proportional to the DOC concentration and ozone dosage, and a strong relationship between the formation of aldehydes, ketoacids, and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) was observed. Four types of granular activated carbon (GAC) and one nonadsorbing medium, biolite, were employed to evaluate the performance of biofiltration for removing ozonation by-products. It was observed that GAC filters developed biological activity sooner than the biolite filter. Once developed, biofilters, either GACs or biolite, were particularly effective in the removal of aldehydes, ketoacids and BDOC.     

The Effects of Ozonation,Biological Filtration and Distribution on the Concentration of Easily Assimilable Organic Carbon (AOC) in Drinking Water

The concentration of easily assimilable organic carbon (AOC) as determined with growth measurements using wo bacterial cultures, increased linearly with ozone dosage at values below 1 mg O₃/mg of C. Moreover, a linear relationship was found between AOC increase and the decrease of UV absorbance of water after ozonation with various dosages. Biological filtration in water treatment reduced AOC concentrations, but the remaining values were above the AOC concentration before ozonation. This AOC removal was attended with an increased colony count in the filtrate. The AOC concentration of drinking water produced by the application of ozone in water treatment decreased during distribution. The greatest decrease was observed with the highest AOC concentration. Also in this situation, the highest colony counts were found. To date, ozonation is applied in seven water treatment plants in the Netherlands.     

The Formation of Filter-Removable Biodegradable Organic Matter During Ozonation

Biodegradable organic matter formed during the ozonation of natural waters was fractionated into rapidly and slowly degradable components based on measurements of biodegradable organic carbon (BDOC). The rapidly degradable fraction (BDOC_rapid) was defined using the specific BDOC reactor incubation time that resulted in biodegradation similar to that in a pilot scale biofilter. Ozone dose was found to increase the formation of BDOC_rapid up to a transferred dose of 1.0 to 1.5 mg O₃/mg DOC. This fraction was insensitive to DOC quantity or character. The formation of BDOC_slow was not sensitive to ozone dose but was sensitive to DOC quantity.     

Removal efficiencies of endocrine disrupting chemicals by coagulation/flocculation, ozonation, powdered/granular activated carbon adsorption, and chlorination

Removal efficiencies of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), bisphenol A and nonylphenol, during various types of water treatment processes were evaluated extensively using laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments. The specific processes of interest were coagulation/flocculation sedimentation/filtration (conventional water treatment process), powdered activated carbon (PAC), granular activated carbon (GAC), ozonation and chlorination. Batch sorption tests, coagulation tests, and ozone oxidation tests were also performed at higher concentrations with 14 EDCs including bisphenol A. The conventional water treatment process had very low removal efficiencies (0 to 7%) for all the EDCs except DEHP, DBP and DEP that were removed by 53%, 49%, and 46%, respectively. Ozonation at 1 mgO₃/ L removed 60% of bisphenol A and 89% of nonylphenol, while chlorination at 1 mg/L removed 58% and 5%, respectively. When ozone and chlorine doses were 4 and 5 mg/L, respectively, both EDCs were not detected. PAC removal efficiencies ranged from 15% to 40% at 3 to 10 mg/L of PAC with a contact time of 15 minutes. In the high concentration batch sorption tests, EDC removal efficiencies by PAC were closely related to octanol-water partition coefficient (K_ow). GAC adsorption was very effective water treatment process. The type and service time of GAC did not affect EDC removal efficiencies. The combination of ozonation and GAC in series appears to remove EDCs effectively to safe levels while conventional water treatment could not.     

Evaluation of Ozone Pretreatment on Flux Parameters of Reverse Osmosis for Surface Water Treatment

This research details the effects of ozone pretreatment on flux of a reverse osmosis membrane. Initial tests were conducted to determine the effects of ozonation on solids removal, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand concentrations using various doses on a simulated surface water. These initial tests showed that the best reduction of solids in the 2–5 microns range was at 0.30 mg/L of ozone. Next, a series of bench scale tests was run for 62.5 hours using a standard reverse osmosis system under constant pressure with three pre-ozonation doses and a no ozone baseline dose. Temporal models were developed using the flux data from these tests to determine the effects of operating hours and ozone dosage on flux. It was found that the laboratory data were not linear and followed power law models. Statistical analysis was used to determine the significance of each ozone dose on the four developed models. The change in flux over the 62.5 operating hours with an ozone dosage of 0.30 mg/L showed the lowest flux change. Last, the models were tested using Hermia's filtration models and resistance versus time data to determine the type of membrane fouling that existed. It was concluded that the major fouling was pore blockage. This work demonstrated that ozone pretreatment is effective prior to use with reverse osmosis since it shows a better solid and organic removal rate as well as decreased flux and resistance changes over time.     

Effect of Preozonation on Flux and Water Quality in Ozonation-Ultrafiltration Hybrid System for Water Treatment

The effect of ozonation on membrane flux and water quality was investigated in an ozonation ultrafiltration (UF) hybrid system. Crossflow UF was performed in total recycle mode to study the effect of ozonation on membrane fouling and disinfection by-product formation potentials of organics. Total organic carbon (TOC), UV absorbance at 254 ran (UV254) and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) were measured as water quality parameters.

The effect of ozonation on membrane flux was found to be largely dependent on raw water quality as well as ozone dose. In case of upstream water (A), preozonation achieved significant flux enhancement regardless of ozone dose. Whereas, for the downstream water (B), the steady state flux was increased or decreased depending on ozone dose.

The analysis based on the resistance-in-series model provided the mechanistic interpretation on the membrane flux variation. Ozonation in an ozone-ultrafiltration system always brought about a decrease in cake resistance (R_c) and an increase in fouling resistance (Rf). Based on the measurement of particle size distribution and zeta potential, the reduction in cake resistance through ozonation was attributed to an increase in particle size due to “ozone-induced particle destabilization”. However, the increase in the fouling resistance seems to be caused partly by the microbial characteristics of raw water.

Although there was little effect on TOC, ozone-UF treatment could get much higher removal of UV 254, THMFP (lday) and THMPF/TOC ratio than UF treatment alone.     

Effects of Ozonation on Natural Organic Matter Reactivity in Adsorption and Biodegradation Processes – A Case Study: The Úzquiza Reservoir Water

In this paper the influences of preozonation on the effectiveness of NOM adsorption and biodegradation processes are studied. Three different types of water have been used in this study: A natural water from the Úzquiza Reservoir (Burgos, Spain), synthetics waters prepared using natural humic substances (fulvic and humic acids extracted from the Úzquiza Reservoir) and a synthetic water prepared using a commercially supplied humic acid. The effect of preozonation on NOM adsorption by activated carbon is evaluated: adsorption of humic acids (hydrophobic, high molecular weight compounds) is improved following preozonation; however, for the fulvic acids (hydrophilic, low molecular weight compounds), no net appreciable effect of preozonation on adsorption was observed. Preozonation increases the biodegradability of NOM: biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC), which was determined using two different bioassays (Billen-Servais method and Joret-Lévi method), increases with increasing ozone dosage. A characterization of humic substances based on their adsorption and biodegradability properties is also reported, showing the effect of ozone.     

Ozonation of Colored Groundwater Pilot-Scale and Full-Scale Experiences

Two different sources of highly colored groundwater in Southern California, USA, were evaluated to determine the effects of ozone and ozone-hydrogen peroxide oxidation on the water quality of treated groundwater. The water quality objectives were based on color reduction, trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) reduction, and microbiological stability and regrowth potential of ozonated water in the distribution system, as indicated by the measurement of assimilable organic carbon (AOC). Ozone alone provided better color removal than ozone-hydrogen peroxide oxidation. Even though little overall decreases in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and THMFP were achieved, a great removal in ultraviolet (UV) absorbance was observed. Ozone oxidation substantially affected the biological stability of treated water as evidenced by the increase in AOC levels. A good correlation was found between AOC and some experimental parameters.     

饮用水AOC与BDOC测定方法的比较与评述

可同化有机碳(AOC)和生物可降解溶解性有机碳(BDOC)是饮用水生物稳定性研究的重要指标。该文简述了AOC与BDOC的含义和关系，总结了AOC与BDOC的测定技术的原理和发展，并对不同测定方法进行了比较和评述。     

Minimization Of Disinfection By-Products Formation In Water Purification Process Using Chlorine Dioxide — Case Studies

The formation of the by-product chlorite after using chlorine dioxide for the disinfection of drinking water depends on the quantity of the organic matter dissolved in the water. A further decisive factor for the chlorite formation is the level of residual free chlorine dioxide. The chlorine dioxide demand decreases by application of activated carbon filtration, especially after the use of a combination of ozone and activated carbon treatment of the water. Nevertheless, higher chlorine dioxide residuals are a source of chlorite and chlorate formation. The concept of the “Minimum Chlorine Dioxide Dosage (MCDD)” is developed in order to give a clue to the water companies for an optimized chlorine dioxide dose without compromising the disinfection efficiency. By application of the MCDD, the residual level of chlorine dioxide is focused to 0.05 mg/L after 0.5 h contact time. In the range of the MCDD the ratio of the chlorite formation and the chlorine dioxide demand is nearly independent of the level of DOC.     

Results Of Bromide And Bromate Monitoring At Several Water Treatment Plants

The ozonation of water is a widely used technology within the water industry. Recent toxicological studies have shown that high bromate ion intake induces a high incidence of tumors in rats. Bromate ion formation from oxidation of water containing bromide ion was examined at nine treatment plants and one pilot. We found bromate ion (> 2 μg/L) in drinking water containing bromide ion when treated with ozone at pH greater than 7.0, even in the presence of ammonia. Bromate ion formation increased with the applied ozone dose. But bromate ion must be considered also as a byproduct of commercial sodium hypochlorite solutions. Under commercial conditions, chlorine dioxide and granular activated carbon had no effects on bromate levels.     

Organic matter removal in boiler feed water treatment of a power plant with ozone

The purpose of this work was to test the effectiveness of ozone as a treatment to remove organic matter of the boiler feed water of a power plant. In the experiments carried out in the power plant Endesa in As Pontes (Spain), chlorine was substituted for ozone in the pre‐treatment stage. The use of ozone reduced the organic content of the boiler feed water by an average 20% compared with chlorination and by 50% when ozone was combined with hydrogen peroxide. The latter treatment achieved an organic content in the boiler feed water of less than 40 μg C/L. The ozone treatment also reduced the content of trihalomethanes in the drinking water, produced by the same plant, to values in the range of 10 μg/L and even to undetectable values when ozone was combined with hydrogen peroxide, in spite of the postchlorination applied to this stream to ensure a disinfectant capacity though the distribution system.     

Ozonation at Belle Glade,Florida : A Case History

In October 1984, the city of Belle Glade, FL installed a two-stage ozonation process for the treatment of lake water high in organics (av TOC 30 mg/L; up to 75 mg/L), high in color (av 100 color units; up to 500), and high in THM concentrations, at times nearly 1,000 μ/L. The new treatment process applied 3 mg/L of ozone to the raw water ahead of the flash mix basin, lime softening, alum and polymer coagulation, clarification, recarbonation, and addition of 3 mg/L ozone prior to filtration. Post-chlorination then produced distribution system THM concentrations averaging 124 μg/L. Distribution of THMs shifted from 85% chloroform by the original process to 40% after adoption of ozonation, the balance comprising brominated species (but not bromoform).

In 1987, the treatment process was modified by adding chlorine and ammonia at the outlets of the pre- and intermediate-stages of ozonation and abandoning free chlorination. This has further reduced the distribution system THM levels to 20-30 μg/L. Filtered water turbidity and color have been improved. The use of chloramines after ozonation controls the nuisance aquatic growths in the clarifiers and recarbonation basins (caused by ozonation alone), and produces a combined chlorine residual which can be maintained throughout the distribution system. Periodic use of free chlorine in the distribution system is required to prevent elevated heterotrophic plate counts and the formation of excessive concentrations of nitrite ion due to biological regrowth and nitrification.