Ozone and Biologically Active Filtration

for Disinfection Byproduct Control

Tom Bell-Games, P.E.

Overview
 Ozone
 Use in Treatment
 Production
 System Components
 Operational and Design Considerations
 Safety
 Biologically Active Filtration
 Process Description
 Use in Treatment
 Operational and Design Considerations
 Demonstration Studies
 Applications in Ohio
Ozone

 O2 + energy O- + O -
 O- + O2 O3
 2O3 3O2
 Formed naturally during lightning storms
 Stratospheric (UV from sun + oxygen)
 Tropospheric (hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide +
sunlight)
 Inherently unstable
Use of Ozone in Water Treatment

 Ozone discovered in mid- 1800’s

 First ozone generator manufactured by Von
Siemens in Berlin, 1857
 Disinfection of drinking water – Oudshoorn,
Netherlands, 1893; Nice, 1906
 49 installations by 1916
 Development of chlorine following WWI
 119 installations by 1940
Use of Ozone in Water Treatment, cont’d.
 > 2,000 by mid-1980’s
 Additional applications driven by recent
regulations within U.S.
 DBP precursors
 Organic micropollutants
 Cryptosporidium deactivation
 AOP
 Improvements in ozone generation systems,
methods of application, and analytical
instrumentation
Use of Ozone in Water Treatment
 Applications for ozone in water treatment:
 Reduction/removal of organics
 Reduction/removal of inorganics
 Enhanced flocculation/coagulation
 Reduction of disinfection byproduct precursors
 Enhanced disinfection
 Taste and odor control
 Ultrapure water systems, bottled water production,
etc.
Use of Ozone in Water Treatment
 DBP Reduction
 Some direct chemical oxidation of a fraction of NOM
 Partial oxidation: high molecular weight NOM
converted to low MW organics
 Increases biodegradable fraction of TOC (assimilable
organic carbon or AOC)
 Increase in AOC by 10 to 20 times
 Low MW compounds more easily transported across
cell membrane
 Low MW compounds more easily attacked by
metabolic enzymes
Ozone – Possible Points of Application

 Pre-ozonation
 Intermediate ozonation
 Post treatment
Ozone – System Components
 Oxygen source
 Supplemental air (nitrogen boost)
 Ozone generator
 Cooling water
 Contactor (basin or pipeline)
 Injection system (diffusion or sidestream
injection)
 Ozone destruct systems
 Ancillary instrumentation
Ozone – Production

Oxygen Source
 Air-fed
 Ambient air
 Complex chemical reactions
 Oxygen-fed
 LOX
 On-site generation (PSA)
Ozone Production – Preconditioning

 Preconditioning of inlet gas to avoid generation

of nitrogen oxides within the generator
 Air filters (dust)
 Air drying (humidity)
 Ambient air – 21% oxygen
 GOX – 95% oxygen
 Addition of small quantity of air (N) if using LOX
Ozone – Production

 Ozone generation
Ozone – Production

 Ozone generation
O3
O2

O2

O3

Corona Discharge Tube

Ozone – Production

 Ozone generation

O2 DischargeGap
Discharge Gap O3
Glass Dielectric

O2 Discharge Gap O3

High Potential Ground Electrode

Electrode
Ozone - Production

 Cooling Water
 Closed loop
 Open loop
Ozone - Production

Ozone Generator

Oxygen Ozone

Closed Loop
Cooling Water

Open Loop
Cooling Water
Heat Exchanger
Adding Ozone to Process Stream

 Diffusion
 Sidestream Injection
Adding Ozone to Process Stream

 Ceramic, Fine Bubble Diffusion

 Ozone Resistant Materials
 316 Stainless Steel
 Viton
 PTFE (Teflon)
 PVDF (Kynar)
Adding Ozone to Process Stream
To Ozone Destruct
 Diffusion

CAT
Adding Ozone to Process Stream

 Sidestream Injection
 Eductors
 Flash Reactors

Ozone Gas
Adding Ozone to Process Stream

Ozone Gas Feed

Flash Reactor
Sidestream
Pump

Venturi
Injector

Ozone Gas Feed

Figure courtesy MWH Americas

Typical Sidestream Injection System

Adding Ozone to Process Stream

 Sidestream Injection Flash Reactors

Adding Ozone to Process Stream

 Access to Ozone Contact Chamber

Ozone – Destruction

 Prevent release of off-gas ozone into

atmosphere
 Prevent adverse impact on downstream
equipment and processes from ozone residual
in process flow
Ozone – Destruction

 Off-gas destruction
 Thermal
 Catalyst (magnesium oxide)
Ozone – Destruction

 Ozone residual quenching

 Calcium thiosulfate
 Sodium thiosulfate
 Sodium bisulfite
 Hydrogen peroxide
Ozone – Operational and Design Considerations

 Ozone Demand
 Typical Types of Process Control
 Ozone gas concentration
 Ozone feed water flow (sidestream injection)
 Ozone residual at various points along contactor
 Mixing and contact time (HRT)
 UV254
 ORP
Ozone – Operational and Design Considerations

 Ozonation Byproducts
 Bromate (MCL 10 µg/L)
 Br− + O3 → BrO−
 Bromate mitigation strategies
Ozone – Operational and Design Considerations

 Hydraulics
 Seasonal variations in influent water quality
(temperature, pH, TOC)
 Dose and flow variations
 Method of application
 Oxygen vs. Air
 Materials of construction
 Gas phase
 Liquid Phase
Ozone – Safety

Oxygen
 LOX and Oxygen Gas
 Atmosphere
 78% Nitrogen
 21% Oxygen
 0.9% Argon
 0.03% Carbon Dioxide
 Oxygen >23% health issues
 Combustion in high-purity oxygen environment
 Oxygen heavier than air
Ozone – Safety
Ozone
 Concentrations detectible by scent
 0.01 – 0.05 ppm
 OSHA exposure limits
 8 hour continuous exposure @ 0.1 ppm
 15 minute continuous exposure @ 0.3 ppm
 Lethal limit
 1 minute exposure @ 10,000 ppm (1%)
 Health effects
 Acute: headache, dry and irritated mucous membranes
 Chronic: exacerbates asthma, emphysema, etc.
 Ozone heavier than air
Ozone – Safety

Equipment
 Ambient ozone and oxygen sensors
 Visual and audible alarm systems
 2-stage ventilation
 Proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
 Training
 Maintenance (regular maintenance/monitoring
and prompt repair)
BAF – Process Description

 Same general filtration concepts as rapid sand

filtration
 Filters continue to be used for particle removal
while also removing AOC
 Biology establishes naturally – no need to
“seed” the filters
 Monitor development of biology through HPC
Biologically Active Filtration
TOC
Particulate (AOC & DOC)
contaminants

Retained
Particles
Assimilated
organic carbon

Biofilm

Remaining TOC
BAF – Effect on Contaminants

 TOC removal affected by nature of NOM

 TOC removal by both physico-chemical and
biological processes
 Typically very high AOC removal
 Typically, 20-30% reduction in DBPFP with
Ozone + BAF
BAF – Operational and Design Considerations

 BAF filters can consistently meet particulate

removal standards
 BAF filters can be optimized for conventional
filter performance parameters
 Headloss
 Ripening time
 Low temperature – decreased organics removal
 Easily biodegradable compounds removed
within standard contact time of conv. filters
BAF – Operational and Design Considerations

 Backwashing with chlorinated backwash water

generally not an issue
 Backwashing with non-chlorinated water results
in slightly greater biomass
 Use of chlorinated backwash as a biomass
control strategy
 Performance typically fully recovered within the
filter cycle
BAF – Operational and Design Considerations

 Air scour as a supplement to hydraulic backwash

 Operating parameters typically unchanged
 Filter run time
 Rate of head loss
 Backwash frequency
 Potential for reduced filter run times if DOC
fraction is high (> 6 mg/L)
 Increase in filter media effective size may be
warranted
 Opportunity to optimize filtration
BAF – Operational and Design Considerations

 Ozonation by-products (e.g. aldehydes)

generally readily removed by BAF
 TOC removal generally independent of EBCT if
EBCT in range of 4 to 20 minutes
 BAF can be effective in reducing subsequent
regrowth in distribution system
 GAC generally more effective than anthracite or
sand
 Coal-based GAC generally better than wood-
based GAC
BAF – Operational and Design Considerations

 Control strategies similar to conventional

filtration
 HPC can be used to measure biological activity
 HPC affected by:
 Length of time since start-up
 Water temperature
 Media type
 Presence / absence of chlorine in backwash water
BAF – Operational and Design Considerations

 Implementation Considerations
 Most plants able to switch to BAF without change to
historical practices
 Most plants report improved particulate removal
and reduced turbidity
 Potential release of manganese in some systems
 Filters exposed to sunlight may exhibit growth of
algae
 Potential filter gas binding (not common)
Pilot-scale Demonstration

 Pilot-scale demonstration used to evaluate

water specific performance
 Dose-TOC reduction
 Various filter media configurations
 Sand / anthracite
 Sand / GAC
 Performance for other specific contaminants
Pilot-scale Demonstration

 Initial bench-scale evaluation of background

ozone demand
 4 to 6 weeks for establishment of biology
 6 weeks for official Ohio EPA approval
 Additional time for evaluation of other
conditions or optimization of operation
Applications in Ohio

 Ozone
 Columbus – Hap Cremean, in design
 Biologically Active Filtration
 GCWW – Richard Miller
 Others
Ozone and Biologically Active Filtration
for Disinfection Byproduct Control
Tom Bell-Games, P.E.
tom.bell-games@burgessniple.com