Miscellaneous Treatments

Removal of Colours, Tastes, Odours:

The water to be supplied in the public water supply scheme should be free from colour,
tastes, and odours. The objectionable tastes and odours maybe due to the following:

1. Organic and vegetable matter

2. Industrial waste and domestic sewage

3. Dissolved gases

4. Dissolved mineral matters

5. Microorganisms

Depending upon the causes different methods can be adopted for the removal of tastes and
odours described below:

i. Coagulation followed by filtration

ii. Prechlorination

iii. Superchlorination followed by dechlorination

iv. Chloramine treatment

v. Use of chlorine dioxide

vi. Ozonation
Other special methods used:

a) Aeration

b) Treatment by activated carbon

c) Use of Copper Sulphate

Aeration
Aeration or degasification is a mechanical process of mixing water and air intimately. It
serves the following purposes:

1. It removes tastes and odours caused by gases due to organic decomposition.

2. It increases the dissolved oxygen content of the water.

3. It removes hydrogen sulphide and hence odour due to this also removed.

4. It decreases the carbon dioxide content of water and thereby reduces its
corrosiveness and raises it pH value.

5. It converts iron and manganese from their soluble state to insoluble states, so that
these can be precipitated and removed.

6. Due to agitation of water during aeration, bacteria maybe killed some extent.

7. It is also used for mixing chemicals with water.

Aeration removes or modifies the constituents of water using two methods i.e. scrubbing
action and oxidation. Scrubbing action is caused by turbulence which results when the
water and air mixed together. The scrubbing action physically removes gases from solution
in the water, allowing them to escape into the surrounding air.

• Scrubbing action will remove tastes and odours from water if the problem is caused
by relatively volatile gases and organic compounds.

• Oxidation is the other process through which aeration purifies water.

Cascade Aerators
 Cascade aerators are the simplest of free fall aerator. Weirs and waterfalls of any
kind are cascade aerators.

 A simple cascade consists of a series of three or four steps of concrete or metal.

 Water is allowed to fall through a height of 1 to 3 metres, and due to this it comes
into close contact with air.
  The cascades can be either in open air, or maybe in a room which has plenty of
louvered air inlets.

 The reduction of CO2 is usually in the range of 50-60%.

Cascade aerator

Slat Tray Aerators

 This is the most commonly used aerator. It consists of a closed round or square
structure containing a series of closely stacked superimposed wood-slat trays.

 Water enters the top of the aerator and is evenly distributed over the topmost tray.

 Water trickles from one tray to another. Air is supplied to the bottom of the aerator
with help of a blower.

 Ventilation is provided at the top, which discharges air and gases to the atmosphere.

 Water is collected in the collector pan at the bottom where it flows to a catch basin
or reservoir.

Slat Tray Aerator

Gravel bed aerators (trickling beds)
 Cascading through beds of coke, limestone, anthracite is believed to have more
efficient CO2 removal than other methods.

 Figure in the next slide shows typical gravel bed aerator in which water is applied at
the top and trickles down while air is blown upwards. The thickness of gravel bed
maybe from 1 to 1.5m.

 In another form commonly known as trickling beds, three or four trays filled with
coke, slag or stone are used.

 The thickness of bed in each tray kept about 0.5 to 0.6m, while the vertical distance
between the beds is kept about 0.5m. Water is applied from top through a
perforated distribution pipe as shown in figure in next slide.

(Gravel bed aerators) (Trickling Beds)

Spay Aerators
 Spay aerators divide the water flow into intimate contact with the air in their
trajectory. Water is sprinkled in fine jets through nozzles.

 It requires considerable head (0.75 to 1.5kg/cm2) but it reduces CO2 by 70 to 90%

more.

Air Diffuser
• In this method, perforated pipe is installed at the bottom of the aeration tank and
compressed air is blown through these pipes.

• The air bubbles travel upward through water thus causing aeration.

• Air diffusion basins have a retention period of about 15 minutes and a depth of 3 to
5 meters.
 Spay Aerators Air Diffuser

Activated Carbon treatment

 Activated carbon used for the control of tastes and odours in water resulting from
the presence of dissolved gases. It has also valuable color removal properties.

 Activated carbon is produced by passing a carbonaceous material such as coke,

charcoal, paper char or sawdust through a heating mechanism at high temp. against
a counter current of air, steam carbon dioxide, chlorine or flue gases. Sometimes
chemical agents like phosphoric acid or zinc chloride maybe added.

 Activated carbon is very porous and has many carbon atoms with free valences. It is
available in granular as well as powder form.

 Activated carbon must possess the properties of easy wettability, prolonged

suspension and effective odour absorption capacity.

 It removes organic contaminants from water by the process of adsorption.

Activated Carbon treatment has the following functions:

 It has been found effective in aiding coagulation.

 It has valuable colour removing properties.

 It is effective in preventing or retarding the decomposition of sludge in settling

basins.

 It is useful in removing tastes and odours due to excess chlorine, hydrogen,

sulphides, phenol and other elements.

 It reduces chlorine demand of treated water.

  It adsorbs organic matter in water.

Activated carbon can be applied to water treatment in two ways:

(a) As filter media (b) As fine powder feed

Use of copper Sulphate

Copper sulphate is used to serve two purposes:

1. Removal of colour, odour and taste from water.

2. Control of growth of algae, bacteria, aquatic weeds in the water reservoir.

• Copper sulphate generally available in powder form or in crystal form.

• It may be applied directly in the distribution pipe or in open reservoirs.

• The dose may vary from 0.3 to 0.6 ppm.

Powder Form Crystal Form

Removal of iron and manganese

 Iron and manganese are generally present in water supplies either in suspension as
hydrated oxides or in solution as bicarbonates. Water has iron dissolved in it as the
result of carbon dioxide coming in contact with iron ore to form soluble ferrous
bicarbonate.
 Iron in natural waters may be in ferric or ferrous condition, soluble, colloidal or
insoluble. When manganese is also associated with iron, removal becomes more
difficult. When they are present in amounts greater than 0.3 p.p.m, either alone or
as total, the following objectionable effects may be noted:
(i) Unpleasant taste and odour,
(ii) Cause staining of plumbing fixtures, clothing and textiles,
(iii) Accumulation of precipitated iron in water mains,
(iv) Growth of crenothrix in water mains,
(v) Cause troubles in various manufacturing processes.
(vi) Sulphate iron cause acidity and corrosive action on iron and brass.
 The reddish tinge in water is due to presence of iron while the brownish tinge due to
the presence of manganese.
 When iron and manganese occur in water without organic matter, they can be
removed by aeration, followed by coagulation, sedimentation, and filtration. By
aeration, dissolved iron is oxidized to ferric oxide which is insoluble in water.
 Similarly, dissolved manganese compounds are converted to insoluble manganese
compounds. The precipitated floc can be settled down in settling tanks or be further
removed in gravity or pressure filters. When iron is present as ferrous bicarbonate,
the following reactions take place:

Fe(HCO3)4+2H2O = FeO+2CO2+3H2O

4FeO+O2 = 2Fe2O3

Fe2O3+3H2O = 2Fe(OH)3

 The above method of iron removal is most extensively used. The amount of oxygen
required for the oxidation of ferrous iron is only about 0.14 parts per part of iron, so
that slight agitation with air is usually sufficient.
 Similar actions take place for manganese bicarbonate. In order to accelerate the
oxidation particularly in waters with high carbon dioxide, by addition of such alkaline
substances as lime, soda ash, or caustic soda. The iron removal is enhanced by
catalytic action of previously deposited hydrates or oxide of iron.
 Combination of iron and manganese, or iron alone, loosely bound to organic matter,
make their removal difficult. The bond between them is broken by adding lime and
thus raising the pH value to more than 9, so that iron and manganese can be
precipitated.
 Alternatively, the aerated water is allowed to trickle over contact beds of coke,
gravel or crushed pyrolusite followed by sedimentation and filtration. Filtration
alone is ineffective due to biologic action dependent on a growth of organisms on
the filer sand. If organic acids are also present aeration, dosage of lime,
sedimentation, and filtration are effective.
 When water does not contain large amounts of iron or manganese, these can be
removed by means of a manganese zeolite. As raw water passes through the bed of
zeolite, the iron and manganese are oxidized to insoluble hydrated oxides that are
removed by the mechanical filtering action of the zeolite bed. The bed must be
washed and must be regenerated occasionally with potassium permanganate.
 Oxidation of iron compounds may also be obtained by chlorination followed by
sedimentation and filtration. The oxidation of iron, particularly of organic origin, can
be affected by the use of potassium permanganate.
  Iron and manganese can be removed in an oxidized condition by softening water by
excess lime process. A pH of 8.2 is needed for iron removal while a pH of 9.6 is
needed for removal of manganese.

Fluoridation

 It has been found that a fluoride concentration of 0.7 to 1.2 p.p.m in water is
beneficial for the prevention of dental caries in children. The allowable level of
fluoride is determined by the annual average of the maximum daily air temperature,
as is clear from table.

Annual Average Maximum Daily Temp. Recommended Fluoride Concentration

(*F) (P.P.M.)
50.0-53.7 1.2
53.8-58.3 1.1
58.4-63.8 1.0
63.9-70.6 0.9
70.7-79.2 0.8
79.3-87.8 0.7

 Higher levels of fluoride (more than 3 p.p.m. have been responsible for mottling of
teeth. However in areas where water is of low fluoride content, dental caries is high.
Hence it is essential to add sufficient fluoride to their water supplies to bring the
fluoride content to 1.0 to 1.2 p.p.m. The process of raising the fluoride the fluoride
content of water is known as fluoridation.
 The fluoride compounds that are adopted for fluoridation are sodium fluoride (NaF),
sodium silico fluoride (NaSiF4) and hydrofluosilicic acid (H2SiF4), sodium fluoride,
having 95-98% purity is most commonly used. For safe handling hydrofluosilicic acid
is better and since even if thisis spilled on the skin, it can be removed easily and
quickly by immediate washing in cold water.

The application of fluorides in water maybe either in powder form or in the solution forms.
However it is preferable to apply is in the solution form, since in the powder form as sodium
fluoride and sodium fluosilicate; it is toxic and must be contained in dust tight hoppers and
containers. It is best to apply fluoride after other treatment, but at a point where through
mixing of fluoride with water can still take place before water leaves the treatment works. It
is essential to maintain a close control of the dose.

Defluoridation:
As stated earlier, excessive concentration (more than 3 p.p.m) can cause dental fluorosis or
mottled enamel when consumed during childhood years. When water containing 8 to 20
p.p.m. of fluoride consumed over a long period of time, bone changes may occur, resulting
in crippling fluorosis. Hence when the fluoride concentration is more than 1 to 1.5 p.p.m., it
should be removed from water. The process of reducing fluoride concentration of water is
known as defluoridation. Following are the principal methods of defluoridation.

Calcium Phosphate:

Bone has great affinity for fluorides and can be used in the filter for removal of fluorides.
The bone is calcinated at 400c to 600c for 10 minutes followed by mineral acid treatment. It
is then pulverised to pass 40to 60 mesh (B.S.S.) and is used in the filter bed. The filter is
regenerated with alkali and acid.one cubic metre of bone can treat 1 million litres of water
containing 3.5 p.p.m. of fluoride.

Bone Charcoal:

It is essentially tri-calcium phosphate and carbon and has been used successfully for the
removal of fluorides.

Synthetic Tricalcium Phosphate:

It can be prepared from milk of lime and phosphoric acid where regeneration is carefully
controlled. This material has been used in contact filter for the removal of fluorides. The
regeneration can be done by 1% caustic soda followed by a dilute hydrochloric acid or
carbon dioxide wash to neutralise the excess alkali.

Fluorex:

Fluorex is a special mixture of tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite. It is used as a filter

medium. Fluorex can be regenerated by washing with 1.5% solution of caustic soda. It can
be next rinsed with twice its volume of water and the excess soda can be neutralised with
the carbon dioxide at 0.15% strength.

Ion exchange:

There are number of ion exchanger materials which can be used for removal of fluoride.
Benson recorded that fluorides in water can be removed by successive passage through
beds of cation exchanger (Zeokarb-H) of the sulphonate type and an amin resin ‘Nalcite-B’.
Alum treated cation exchange resin from Avaram bark can be used as an effective material
for removing fluorides from water.

Lime:

Lime can also be used for reducing the fluorine content in water. Fluoride is removed along
with magnesium in a direct relationship to the amount of magnesium taken out in the
softening process. The water must be treated to a caustic alkalinity of 30 p.p.m. and a pH
value of 10.5; hence re-carbonation necessary. The process is suitable for hard water
containing less than 4 p.p.m. of fluorides.
Aluminium Compounds:

Filter alum is recognised as having a high fluoride absorption capacity, which can be further
increased with coagulant aids, such as activated silica and clays. The fluorides are removed
by the formation of an aluminium fluoride complex or by absorption on the floc. Another
method utilising aluminium which involves the use of contact beds of insoluble materials
impregnated with aluminium compounds. Dehydrated aluminium oxide can be used in
contact beds for removal of fluorides.

Activated Carbon:

Removal of fluorine from water has also been affected by treatment with activated carbon
at pH 3.0. No removal takes place at pH 8or above. The carbon hen used as a contact bed
can be regenerated with the weak acid and alkaline solution.

Ion-exchange
The process of Ion-Exchange

• In the context of water purification, ion-exchange is a rapid and reversible process in which
impurity ions present in the water are replaced by ions released by an ion-exchange resin.

• The impurity ions are taken up by the resin, which must be periodically regenerated to
restore it to the original ionic form. (An ion is an atom or group of atoms with an electric
charge. Positively-charged ions are called cations and are usually metals; negatively-charged
ions are called anions and are usually non-metals).

• The following ions are widely found in raw waters:

* Although these ions are not present in any significant amounts in water, they are,
nevertheless, very important in the process of ion exchange.

† Both of these compounds, when dissolved in water, form weak acids which are weakly
ionised.
Ion Exchange Resins

• There are two basic types of resin - cation-exchange and anion-exchange resins. Cation
exchange resins will release Hydrogen (H+) ions or other positively charged ions in exchange
for impurity cations present in the water. Anion exchange resins will release hydroxyl (OH-)
ions or other negatively charged ions in exchange for impurity anions present in the water.

• Today’s modern ion-exchange resins are prepared from synthetic polymers such as styrene-
divinylbenzene copolymers which have either been sulphonated to form strongly acidic
cation-exchangers or aminated to form strongly basic or weakly basic anion-exchangers. See
Figure which illustrates typical structures of cation and anion resins.

Structural diagrams of ion-exchange resins:

The resins are in the form of insoluble, porous, spherical beads, approximately 0.5mm in diameter.

The application of ion-exchange to water treatment and purification

• These are three ways in which ion-exchange technology can be used in water
treatment and purification: first, cation-exchange resins alone can be employed to
soften water by base exchange; secondly, anion-exchange resins alone can be used
for organic scavenging or nitrate removal; and thirdly, combinations of cation-
exchange and anion-exchange resins can be used to remove virtually all the ionic
impurities present in the feed water, a process known as deionisation.

• The first two technologies are forms of water treatment in which either the chemical
nature of the impurities is changed (as in base-exchange softening) or certain
impurities are selectively removed (as in organic scavenging or nitrate removal). By
contrast, deionization is a purification process which can produce water of
exceptionally high quality.

Electro dialysis

In the electrodialytic desalination process, salt ions are removed from saline water under
the impetus of an electric current. The process uses membranes that are selective for the
passage of ions of a given charge. Two different membranes are used one more selective to
anions and the other, more selective to cations.

Brakish water is introduced into a narrow channel, one of whose walls is an anion
permeable membrane. The passage of electric current (figure) aids the diffusion of these
ions, and the electric energy required is proportional to the concentration of salts in the
saline water. The press is suitable especially for brakish waters with total concentration of
saline constituents up to 5000mg/l and leaving at least 100mg/l in treated water.

Fig. Electro dialysis

Reverse Osmosis (RO)

• This process is much more suitable for brakish water than for sea water. In this
process, brakish water after pretreatment is forced across a permeable membrane
by mechanical process i.e. pressure difference. The phenomenon is also called as the
hyper filtration.

• The pressure applied must be greater than the osmotic pressure. When salt water is
fed into the reverse osmosis cells (modules), part of the water permeates (brine) the
membrane and is collected as fresh water while the remainder is passed through a
turbine for recovery of power before it is rejected.

• Figure 1 shows the outline of the unit and figure 2 shows a spiral wound reverse
osmosis module, containing spacers , modified cellulose acetate membrane and a
porous backing in a spirally wrapped double sandwich.

• The spiral wound design enables the utilization of far more membrane surface area
than would be offered by a tubular sheet construction within the same size package.

Fig 1. Reverse Osmosis (RO) for desalination

Fig 2. Spiral wound cellulose acetate membrane module