Long-term performance of biological ion exchange for the removal of natural organic matter and ammonia from surface waters

Water Research
Nargess AminiBenoit Barbeau

Abstract

Anionic exchange is an effective treatment option for the removal of natural organic matter from surface waters. However, the management of the spent brine regenerant often limits the adoption of this process. The current study reports one year of operation of ion exchange resins under biological mode (BIEX, i.e. without regeneration to promote biofilm growth on the media) compared to the performance of (i) ion exchange with weekly regeneration (IEX), (ii) granular activated carbon under biological mode (BAC) and (ii) granular activated carbon under adsorption mode (GAC). Four parallel pilot filters (GAC, BAC, IEX and BIEX) were fed with a colored and turbid river water without pretreatment. Although IEX provided the best performance (80% DOC removal) throughout the study, BIEX achieved a similar performance to IEX prior to DOC breakthrough (92 days) and subsequently achieved a mean DOC removal of 62% in warm water conditions. The GAC filter was rapidly exhausted (2 weeks) while the BAC filter only provided a 5% DOC reduction. Full nitrification was observed on both the BIEX and BAC filters under warm water conditions (>15 °C). After one year of operation, BIEX was successfully regenerated with brine. According to a mass balanc...Continue Reading

Citations

Sep 19, 2019·Water Environment Research : a Research Publication of the Water Environment Federation·Weihang OuyangJinkai Xue
Dec 6, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Zhen LiuBenoit Barbeau

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