Title: Separated adsorption and bacterial degradation of microcystins in GAC filtration

Authors: Haixiang Wang, David Lewis, Gayle Newcombe, Justin Brookes, Lionel Ho

Addresses: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, 5005, Australia. ' Microalgal Engineering Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, 5005, Australia. ' Applied Chemistry, Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, CRC Water Quality and Treatment, PMB 3 Salisbury, SA 5108, Australia. ' CLEAR Water Research Group, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, 5005, Australia. ' Applied Chemistry, Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, CRC Water Quality and Treatment, PMB 3 Salisbury, SA 5108, Australia

Abstract: For removal of microcystins from drinking water, Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filtration has shown to be promising as it is not only an efficient adsorbent, but also can support biodegradation of microcystins, extending the lifetime of this application. In this study, a sterile and non-sterile GAC column, in addition to a sand column, was studied to distinguish the adsorption and biodegradation removal mechanisms. Effective microcystin adsorption was considerably short in a virgin GAC bed, ∼10-15 days. Biodegradation was shown to be the primary removal mechanism after its commencement (∼1 month), with complete reduction until the study|s completion (∼11 months).

Keywords: microcystins; GAC filtration; granular activated carbon; adsorption; bacterial biodegradation; drinking water; water quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2009.026340

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2009 Vol.3 No.3/4, pp.236 - 243

Published online: 07 Jun 2009 *

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