Engineering Commons^™

Barriers To Technology Adoption In The Water Treatment Industry, Ian Adams

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project focuses on barriers to technology adoption in the drinking water treatment industry. The scope of this project considers these barriers as they relate to general technology and with a specific focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins. To better understand these barriers, prior research and case studies are analyzed. The case studies include reports provided by Fontus Blue, a water treatment software provider based in Akron, Ohio. The case studies exhibit the benefits and challenges of integrating new technology, including AI systems. With the context of these case studies in mind, a survey was distributed to …

Performance Of A Drinking Water Treatment System For A Small Community In Rural Ghana, West Africa, Xiya Xu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In many African countries, the shortage of water resources is a common phenomenon. Providing safe and adequate water is an issue that must be considered by community leaders and municipal authorities. The present project investigated the performance of a small drinking water treatment system in a small community at Enyan Abaasa, Central Region, Ghana, through sampling and laboratory testing. The treatment system, which is fed by a deep borehole, consists sequentially of polypropylene (PP) yarn pre-filter, sand filter, layered activated carbon-softener resin filter, PP yarn micron filter, reverse osmosis (RO) membrane, PP yarn final filter and two ultraviolet (UV) disinfection …

Performance Of Activated Filter Media® (Afm) In Drinking Water Treatment Systems, Jaquice Hughes Boyd

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT This dissertation evaluated the performance of activated filter media (AFM), recycled glass media used as a substitute for conventional sand filtration systems. Activated filter media is a direct replacement for sand filter media typically used during the dual media filtration methods employing sand and anthracite. One grade size of activated filter media was used: grade 1 (0.4 – 1.0 mm) to study its performance as a filtration media. This research was conducted at The Birmingham Water Works Board Experimental Pilot Treatment Facility, located at the Shades Mountain Filter Plant (SMFP). The pilot plant includes two independent treatment trains capable …

Iron-Enhanced Mitigation Of Viruses In Drinking Water, Joseph Aiden Heffron

Dissertations (1934 -)

Waterborne viruses are ubiquitous in the environment and present a global threat to public health. Previous research has suggested that iron-based water treatment has promise as a low-cost, non-toxic means of virus mitigation. In particular, zero-valent and ferrous iron have shown evidence of inactivating bacteria and viruses. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the relationship between iron oxidation and virus inactivation and determine if iron-based inactivation can enhance two water treatment processes, electrocoagulation and electrooxidation, for virus mitigation. This research first investigated bacteriophage inactivation due to ferrous oxidation in batch tests using ferrous chloride salt. Ferrous iron oxidation …

Removal Of Carbamazepine From Drinking Water, Paola Marrero-Rivera, Adam Johnson, Jordan Alex Gadberry, Juan Rodriguez, Thomas Krumpolc, Zach Wiese

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the increasing prevalence of prescription medication over the past few decades, pharmaceuticals have accumulated in various water sources. This has become a public health concern because many pharmaceuticals have limited research on the effects of chronic low-level exposure.One pharmaceutical of interest that has been detected in water sources is carbamazepine. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a common pharmaceutical prescribed for the treatment of seizure disorders, neuropathic pain, and various psychological disorders. It’s mechanism of action is “sodium channel blocking,” which is the impairment of conduction of sodium ions in sodium channels. This, in effect, reduces nervous-system conductivity in key areas …

Tracking Silver, Gold, And Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Through Drinking Water Systems By Single Particle - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry, Ariel Renee Donovan

Masters Theses

"Single particle (SP)-ICP-MS methods were developed to characterize and quantify Ti-containing, titanium dioxide, silver, and gold NP concentration, size, size distribution and dissolved metal element concentration in surface water and treated drinking water. The effectiveness of conventional drinking water treatments (including lime softening, alum coagulation, filtration, and disinfection) to remove NPs from surface water was evaluated using six-gang stirrer jar test simulations. Six-gang stirrers were used to simulate drinking water treatments including lime softening, alum coagulation, powdered activated carbon sorption, filtration, and disinfection by free chlorine. Lime softening effectively removed most nanoparticles added. Source and drinking waters from three large …

Trihalomethane Removal And Re-Formation In Spray Aeration Processes Treating Disinfected Groundwater, Cassandra Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, chlorination has been widely utilized as a primary and secondary disinfectant in municipal water supplies. Although chlorine disinfection is effective in inactivating pathogenic microbes, the use of chlorine creates the unintentional formation of regulated chemicals. On January 4, 2006, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the Stage 2 Disinfectants/Disinfection by-product rule (DBPR) that focuses on public health protection by limiting exposure to four trihalomethanes (THM) and five haloacetic acids (HAA5), formed when chlorine is used for microbial pathogen control. This thesis examines post-aeration TTHM formation when employing spray-aeration processes to remove semi-volatile TTHMs from chlorinated potable water …

Ozone And Gac Treatment Of A Central Florida Groundwater For Sulfide And Disinfectant By-Product Control, Tara Lamoureux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the combination of ozone and granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment for the removal of sulfide and disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors in drinking water at the pilot-scale. The research conducted was performed at the Auxiliary (Aux) and Main Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in Sanford, Florida. Both WTPs rely upon groundwater sources that contain total sulfide ranging from 0.02 to 2.35 mg/L and total organic carbon (TOC) ranging from 0.61 to 2.20 mg/L. The Aux WTP’s raw water contains, on average, 88% more sulfide and 24% more TOC than the Main WTP. Haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) …

Control Of Hydrogen Sulfide From Groundwater Using Packed-Bed Anion Exchange And Other Technologies, Camilo Romero Cotrino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydrogen sulfide imparts odors and taste to drinking water and can be corrosive to distribution systems. Groundwater sources used to produce drinking water tend to have sulfide concentrations ranging from below 0.1 to over 3 mg/L. Under anaerobic conditions, hydrogen sulfide can be formed from reduction of sulfate and elemental sulfur through chemical or biological reactions. Therefore, to decrease the potential for hydrogen sulfide in water systems, control of all forms of sulfur should be consistent.

Hydrogen sulfide in groundwater can be controlled through conversion or removal mechanisms. Conversion reactions result from chemical or biological reactions that oxidize hydrogen sulfide …