Iron oxide amended biosand filters for virus removal

Bradley, Ian M.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/26107 Copy

Description

Title

Iron oxide amended biosand filters for virus removal

Author(s)

Bradley, Ian M.

Issue Date

2011-08-25T22:13:09Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Nguyen, Thanh H.

Department of Study

Civil & Environmental Eng

Discipline

Environ Engr in Civil Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Drinking water
• point-of-use technology
• virus removal
• sand filtration

Abstract

Laboratory studies were performed to determine if the addition of iron oxides throughout biosand filter (BSF) media would increase virus removal due to adsorption. The proposed mechanism is electrostatic adsorption of negatively charged virion particles to positively charged iron oxides formed during the corrosion of zerovalent iron. Initial tests conducted using continuous flow, small-scale glass columns showed high MS2 bacteriophage removal in an iron-amended sand column (5-log10) compared to a sand only column (0.5-log10) over 20 pore volumes. Additionally, two experiments with a column containing iron particles revealed 4 and 5 log10 removal of rotavirus in the presence of 20 mg/L total organic carbon. Full-scale BSFs with iron particles removed >4-log10 MS2 for the duration of the experiment (287 days), while BSF with steel wool removed >4-log10 MS2 for the first 160 days. Plug flow for the BSF was shown to depend on uniformity between the iron oxide material and sand media grains. The results suggest that the duration of effective virus removal by iron-amended biosand filtration depends on source water conditions and the quantity and composition of iron material added. Overall, this study provides evidence that iron-amended BSFs may advance the field of point-of-use technologies and bring relief to millions of people suffering from waterborne diseases.

Graduation Semester

2011-08

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/26107

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Ian M. Bradley

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