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Evaluation of the Beneficial Reuse of Baked-Alum Water Treatment Residual to Adsorb Phosphorous

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2020, Master of Science in Engineering, University of Akron, Civil Engineering.
Excess phosphorous in water ways is known to be a cause of harmful algal blooms. These blooms have caused problems with water aesthetics and recreational use. Water Treatment Residual (WTR) has been shown to have an affinity for phosphorous. Since WTR is a bi-product of the drinking water treatment process it has the potential of being a low-cost alternative to remove excess phosphorous from water ways, potentially preventing harmful algal blooms. A previous study proved there was a beneficial reuse for WTR produced at the Akron Water Treatment plant for binding excess phosphorous. This research thesis looked further into Akron Water Treatment Plants WTR, to see if baking could increase its phosphorous adsorption capacity. Initial 24-hour sorption studies determined optimal baking temperatures of 175°C for Al-WTR (ce = 0.31 mg/L, qe = 117.21) and 150°C for PAC-WTR (ce = 0.20 mg/L, qe = 120.00). Isotherm studies for baked Al-WTR (175°C) and PAC-WTR (150°C) found that there was a net desorption of phosphorous when in distilled background solution. A statistical analysis across all experimental conditions determined that baked PAC-WTR (mean qe 11.00 mg/kg) performed significantly (ρ < 0.05) better than baked Al-WTR (mean qe 8.18 mg/kg). When the specific condition of the isotherm experiments were considered, baked PAC-WTR sorbed more PO4 (mean qe 36.64 mg/kg) (ρ < 0.05) when subjected to raw water at 20°C and static in conditions. Baked Al-WTR was the next best (mean qe 21.42 mg/kg) significantly (ρ < 0.05) in 5°C Static in raw water. Continuous flow column tests were also conducted to find the sorption maximum of the baked WTR, and to compare the adsorption capacity of As-Is WTR versus baked WTR conducted. Baked WTR was found to have an affinity for phosphorous with a sorption capacity of 7.91 mg-P/g-WTR for baked Al-WTR and 16.21 mg-P/kg-WTR. When compared to As-Is WTR, baked PAC WTR was the only material found to have a higher adsorption capacity by 83% compared to As-Is PAC-WTR at the same run time. After analysis of all experiments it was concluded that As-Is WTR performed significantly (ρ < 0.05), better than baked WTR and would be the recommended reuse of Akron Water Treatment Plant’s WTR for the adsorption of phosphorous. There were not many papers on the reuse of baked WTR. This paper evaluated the economics and the effect of baking on phosphorous adsorption. While it was not found to be beneficial for phosphorous adsorption at selected temperatures, the analytical methods used could be employed for further analysis on the effects of baked WTR.
Teresa Cutright, PhD (Advisor)
Donald Ott, PhD (Committee Member)
Stephen Duirk, PhD (Committee Member)
230 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Spade, M. P. (2020). Evaluation of the Beneficial Reuse of Baked-Alum Water Treatment Residual to Adsorb Phosphorous [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1588850478064345

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Spade, Michael. Evaluation of the Beneficial Reuse of Baked-Alum Water Treatment Residual to Adsorb Phosphorous. 2020. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1588850478064345.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Spade, Michael. "Evaluation of the Beneficial Reuse of Baked-Alum Water Treatment Residual to Adsorb Phosphorous." Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1588850478064345

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)