Taste and Odor

Introduction
Taste and odor in drinking water are two of the most widespread causes of
customer complaints. Although there are no associated health effects, the
extensive public relations difficulties resulting from taste and odor make it
important to treat these problems.

Treatment involves the implementation of a taste and odor control program, which
should be found at every treatment plant. Under some circumstances, this program
may be as simple as routinely monitoring for taste and odor problems and
performing preventive maintenance on the system. In other cases, treatment is
more complex and can involve special equipment to treat the taste and odor
problems.

We will first consider prevention and testing, which are at the core of the taste and
odor control program. Later in this lesson, we will introduce various techniques
which can be used for active treatment of taste and odor problems. In any case, an
understanding of the causes of taste and odors in water will make treatment more
effective.

Causes of Taste and Odor

Taste and odor can enter water in a variety of manners. Surface water sources can
become contaminated through algal blooms or through industrial wastes or
domestic sewage introducing taste- and odor-causing chemicals into the water.
Groundwater supplies can be afflicted with dissolved minerals, such as iron and
manganese, which enter the water when it passes through rocks underground.
Tastes and odors can also enter either type of water in the raw water transmission
system and in the treatment plant due to algal growths, accumulated debris and
sludge, or disinfection byproducts. The distribution system can have many of the
same causes of taste and odor mentioned above, with the addition of problems
resulting from cross-connections and low flow zones.

The table below lists some of the chemicals which cause the most common taste
and odor problems in water.

Chemical cause Taste/odor Origin

Geosmin earthy or grassy odors Produced by actinomycetes, blue-green algae, and green
algae.
2-Methylisoborneol musty odor Produced by actinomycetes and blue-green algae.
(MIB)
2t, 4c, 7c-decatrienal fishy odor Produced by blue-green algae.
Chlorine bleach, chlorinous, or Addition of chlorine as a disinfectant.
medicinal taste and odor
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Chloramines swimming pool, bleach, or Addition of chlorine and ammonia as a disinfectant.
geranium odor
Aldehydes fruity odor Ozonation of water for disinfection.
Phenols and pharmaceutical or Phenols usually originate in industrial waste.
Chlorophenols medicinal taste Chlorophenols are formed when phenols react with
disinfecting chlorine.
Iron rusty or metallic taste Minerals in the ground.
Manganese rusty or metallic taste Minerals in the ground.
Hydrogen sulfide rotten egg odor Produced by anaerobic microorganisms in surface water or
by sulfates in the ground.
Methane gas garlic taste Decomposition of organic matter.

Prevention
The best way to treat taste and odor problems is prevention. Algal blooms in
reservoirs can be prevented by using copper sulfate while algae growing on walls
of the treatment plant basins can be removed through shock treatment with
chlorine. Since hydrogen sulfide is produced during anaerobic conditions,
preventing these conditions in the reservoir, the distribution system, and in sludge
in the sedimentation basin will prevent hydrogen sulfide formation. In the
distribution system, periodic flushing and maintaining an adequate chlorine
residual will keep the pipes clean and odor free.

Testing
An integral part of any taste and odor control program is testing the water for taste
and odor problems. The two methods used for these tests - the Threshold Odor
Test and the Flavor Profile Analysis - are far more subjective than the methods
used to test other water characteristics since both the Threshold Odor Test and the
Flavor Profile Analysis depend on human perception of the taste and odor in the
water. However, despite the difficulty of performing the tests objectively, they still
provide valuable information which can help the operator determine what is
causing the taste or odor problem, how concentrated the problematic chemical is,
and how the problem should be treated.

The Threshold Odor Test is used to determine the amount of odor found in
water. During the procedure, the water being tested is diluted with odor-free water
and is smelled. The dilutions continue until no odor can be discerned. The last
dilution at which odor is detected determines the Threshold Odor
Number (TON), which is a measure of the amount of odor in the water. If several
people independently perform the Threshold Odor Test, the averaged TON can be
relatively accurate.

While the Threshold Odor Test is used to determine the concentration of odor-
causing problems in water, the Flavor Profile Analysis can be used to
determine which tastes and odors are present in water. This test uses a panel of
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trained judges who taste the water and list which tastes they can detect. Since the
tastes present are described carefully, the Flavor Profile Analysis can be helpful in
determining which chemicals are at the root of the problem.

These tests can be performed to find the source of a particular problem or as part of
routine monitoring. To find the source of a problem, the water should be tested at
various locations, from the source water to the customer's tap. In contrast, routine
monitoring can be less intensive but requires good record-keeping. Past records
can help the operator predict seasonal variations in taste and odor problems so that
he can prevent problems before they reach the customer. Records of past treatment
methods can make it much easier to determine which treatment methods will be
effective during current outbreaks.

Active Treatment Methods

Introduction
The choice of an active treatment method for taste and odor problems depends on
the cause of the problem. In addition, some methods can be used to solve other
problems, such as trihalomethane formation, which should be factored into the
choice of a treatment method. Active treatment may involve optimizing plant
processes, using ion exchange units, air stripping, performing chemical or
mechanical oxidation, or performing adsorption.

Optimizing Plant Processes

Chlorine smells are one of the most common problems reported by water
customers and are also one of the simplest odor problems to treat. Chlorine smells
can be dealt with by simply optimizing the chlorine dosage.

If the tastes and odors are associated with color and turbidity or with floating algae,
then optimizing the coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration
processes may take care of the problem. This is often the simplest and most
economical treatment method for taste and odor problems since the equipment is
already in place. In addition, these typical plant processes can remove
trihalomethane precursors in many cases if prechlorination is not used at the
treatment plant.

Air Stripping
Volatile compounds can sometimes be removed from water using aerators which
strip the compounds from the water. This technique is usually more helpful at
controlling odors than tastes, and is very effective at removing hydrogen sulfide.
Trihalomethanes can be removed from water using aeration if the aeration follows

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chlorination. However, in that type of setup, the operator must be aware that
passing air through treated water can add contamination back into the water.

Oxidation
Oxidation is another frequently used method to remove tastes, odors, and
trihalomethane precursors. Oxidation can be either mechanical (using an aerator)
or chemical (by adding chlorine, potassium permanganate, ozone, or chlorine
dioxide.) Use of aerators is usually only effective at removing tastes associated
with iron and manganese. In other cases, chemicals must be used.

Chlorine is the most widespread chemical used for oxidation of tastes and odors
since chlorine is already in use in many treatment plants as a disinfectant. When
using chlorine to oxidize taste and odor problems, the dosage of chlorine must be
greater than that used for disinfection, a method called superchlorination. After
superchlorination has removed the taste and odor problems, the excess chlorine
must be removed from the water, which can be achieved using granular activated
carbon (which will be discussed later.) Chlorination can deal with fishy, grassy, or
flowery odors and with iron and hydrogen sulfide. However, chlorination can
make some problems worse, especially those caused by phenols. And, of course,
chlorination will increase the trihalomethane concentration.

Other chemicals used for oxidation include potassium permanganate, chlorine

dioxide, and ozone. Potassium permanganate is used to treat organic contaminants
while chlorine dioxide does well against phenolic and algal tastes. Ozone is a very
strong oxidant which will treat more problems than chlorine and lacks the
objectionable by-products. All of these methods can also be used to remove or
modify trihalomethane precursors, but with variable efficiency.

Adsorption
The final treatment method we will discuss is adsorption. As you will remember
from the filtration lesson, adsorption occurs when Van der Waal's forces pull
contaminants out of the water to stick them onto the surface of some other
material. This material, known as the adsorbent, has a very large surface area to
allow the removal of large amounts of contaminants. Adsorbents use large pores,
such as the one shown below, to increase their surface area.

Several different materials can be used as adsorbents in water treatment. The most
widespread of these materials is activated carbon which is formed when carbon
from wood, coal, peat, or nut shells is exposed to heat in the absence of oxygen.
Activated carbon has been used medicinally since 1500 BC in Egypt and is now
used in over a quarter of water treatment plants across the U.S. The popularity of
activated carbon stems from its lack of specificity which allows it to treat many
different taste and odor problems. We will discuss activated carbon in more depth
in a later section.
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The other two types of adsorbents are activated alumina and synthetic resins, both
of which are typically used as filter media. Activated alumina is used to remove
excess fluoride from water as well as to remove arsenic and selenium.

Types of Activated Carbon

Powdered Activated Carbon

Powdered activated carbon, or PAC, is a form of activated carbon with a very
small particle size. Treatment involves adding PAC to water, allowing the PAC to
interact with contaminants in the water, then removing the PAC by sedimentation
or filtration.

The effectiveness of PAC in adsorbing tastes and odors depends on adequate

mixing, contact time, dosage, and on the cause and concentration of the taste/odor
problem. Mixing and contact time are determined by the location at which the
PAC is added in the treatment process, so adjustments made by the operator will
usually involve only dosage adjustments. The dosage usually ranges from 1 to 15
mg/L. The operator chooses an appropriate dosage using jar tests and the results
from odor and taste tests.

Granular Activated Carbon

Granular activated carbon, also known as GAC, has a larger particle size than
PAC with an associated greater surface area. Like PAC, GAC can remove
trihalomethane precursors as well as taste and odor compounds.

GAC is used as a filter medium, either as a layer in a rapid-sand filter or in a

separate filter known as a contactor. When contactors are used, the contactor is
placed downstream of the filter so that turbidity won't clog the contactor.

Choosing a Type of Activated Carbon

GAC and PAC each have advantages and disadvantages. In general, PAC is used
more often due to the low initial cost and to the flexibility of dosage which allows
the PAC concentration to be adjusted to deal with changing contaminant levels.
However, PAC has a high operating cost if used continuously, cannot be
regenerated, produces large quantities of sludge, and can break through filters to
cause dirty water complaints by the customers. In addition, the dust resulting from
the small particles of PAC make handling difficult, as does the flammability of the
particles.

GAC becomes a more economical choice in larger systems or where taste and odor
must be controlled continuously. Disadvantages of GAC include a high initial cost
to buy the filter or contactor, and the tendency of GAC filters to grow bacteria.
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