Achi news desk-
Growing up in a small neighborhood in Cameroon,Maeva Che(CivMin PhD student) aware of the challenges of accessing clean drinking water.
“Experiencing exposure to water issues and challenges with sustainable access to safe drinking water sparked my interest in water treatment,” said Che.
Che’s drive to improve water quality around the world brought her to theDrinking Water Research Group(DWRG) at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, where he researches innovative solutions to address local water issues.
Che works under the supervision of the ProfessorRon Hofmann (CivMin), which is a member of the DRG. Her research focuses on removing unpleasant taste and odor compounds in Ontario’s drinking water by promoting the biodegradation of these compounds through granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration.
The project is supported by a five-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) entitled Advanced and Emerging Issues in Drinking Water Treatment.
GAC filtration is a water treatment process that uses granular activated carbon, which is made from organic materials high in carbon, such as wood, coal or coconut shells. These materials are heated in the absence of oxygen through a process known as pyrolysis and chemically or physically stimulated to produce the activated carbon. The activation improves the adsorption properties of the material, making it productive in removing contaminants from water.
Although GAC filtration is an effective treatment process, its adsorption capacity is limited. GAC absorption capacity is expected to expire after approximately three years of service and drinking water treatment utilities must replace the GAC. Aside from the inconvenience, replacing GAC is costly.
Che is working on alternative ways to remove contaminants using GAC filtration, specifically through biodegradation. When the filter has been in service for a while, there is a growth of microorganisms on the GAC, which can be useful for removing contaminants.
“Think of biodegradation as the useful bacteria on the GAC feeding on the contaminants in the water, thereby removing them,” says Che.
“If the GAC has enough good bacteria that biodegrade the compounds, it may not be necessary to replace the GAC when its adsorption capacity ends. This can extend the life of the filter, resulting in cost benefits for treatment utilities.”
In other words, biodegradation can potentially improve the performance of GAC filters.
Che and the DWRG will collaborate with water treatment plants to determine methods that can improve the biodegradation of taste and odor compounds in their GAC filters.
Currently in its initial phase, the project is being run alongside Peterborough Utilities Group’s drinking water treatment works, where Che is carrying out pilot-scale filtration studies with support from the Peterborough Utilities Commission. They plan to extend this research to other partner treatment plants in the future.
Working with various water treatment plants across Ontario, Che will also assess the effectiveness of GAC filters in removing non-traditional taste and odor compounds, which are not commonly monitored.
To achieve this, she will evaluate filter performance for two common taste and smell compounds – 2-methylisoborneal and geosmin – and eight additional non-traditional compounds that can cause taste and smell events. This includes collecting GAC and water samples from the works and carrying out laboratory scale filtration tests, known as minicolumn tests. This test, developed by the DWRG, allows to distinguish between adsorption and biodegradation in GAC filters.
Minicolumn tests provide vital insight into the performance of the GAC filters in terms of contaminant adsorption and biodegradation. To distinguish between these mechanisms, researchers use parallel minicolumns. One minicolumn operates under conditions where the biological activity of microorganisms is inhibited, which isolates the adsorption process. The second minicolumn operates without biological inhibition, allowing adsorption and biodegradation.
“Many plants are not aware of the performance of their filters for other compounds, apart from the two common ones, which also contribute to taste and smell events in water. Our project, therefore, plays a vital role in expanding understanding of this,” said Che.
Project partners include the Ajax Water Supply Works and the Barrie Surface Water Treatment Plant.
The DWRG comprises approximately 30 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research managers and associates who collaborate with local, national and international industry and government organizations to tackle a wide range of projects that n relating to municipal drinking water.
Che credits her experience as a master’s student with the research group as a major factor in her decision to pursue a PhD at the University of Toronto.
“During my master’s degree with the DWRG, I worked on projects that improved the quality of drinking water, gaining practical experience in treatment plants. Seeing the results of my research reinforced my decision to pursue my PhD here,” said Che.
Ultimately, Che hopes to make a significant impact in the field — and the DDRG provides opportunities to achieve this, with a supportive community of researchers and supervisors.
“My goal is to continue to research and develop sustainable solutions for drinking water treatment that benefit communities in need,” he said.
Ad blocking test (Why?)
Source link
Related
