CONTAMINANT REMOVAL RESOURCES

• New Toolkit Arrives Just In Time For HAB Season

  With harmful algal blooms (HABs) being forecast to increase, in part due to the effects of climate change, more water systems can expect to face problematic cyanotoxin conditions more frequently and for more days per year. In its efforts to mitigate the negative effects of such increases, the U.S. EPA has enhanced its information resources for water utilities by issuing a new Cyanotoxins Preparedness and Response Toolkit (CPRT).

• Jar Testing Gets An Upgrade

  Jar testing is a common laboratory procedure used at water and wastewater treatment plants to determine optimum conditions for the coagulation / flocculation process. In a set of beakers a defined amount of water is mixed with varying amounts of coagulant, and through observation by a trained operator the optimal amount of coagulant can be determined.

• The Evolving Cost Comparison Of GAC Vs. IX For PFAS Treatment

  PFAS is increasingly an issue for drinking water utilities. While regulations are a moving target — with a push for testing that includes more compounds and lower detection limits — more utilities are deciding to treat their source water. As treatment evolves, so do the means and methods of disposing spent material, which changes the cost comparison for two key technologies.

• EPA Scientists Test Non-Targeted Analysis Methods Using Drinking Water Filters

  Today, researchers can rapidly search for thousands of never-before studied chemical compounds in a wide variety of environmental, residential, and biological media. This approach is called “non-targeted analysis” (NTA). It differs from targeted analysis because researchers do not have to know what specific chemical they are looking for in a sample. They can use high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to rapidly identify many of the chemicals present in a sample. The HRMS measures the accurate mass of molecules and can find chemicals that would have gone unnoticed before. This approach is beneficial not just to researchers, but to States, tribes, and local communities who might want to know more about chemical exposure.

• PFOA/PFOS Stormwater Treatment

  Following several years of piloting ion exchange resin for the removal of perfluorinated compounds, CKS Engineers needed to design and construct a full-scale system to treat the former military base stormwater runoff before entering Neshaminy Creek.

• Treating Contaminated Groundwater: Advanced Iron Removal System

  The City of Belleville, Ontario was planning on re-developing downtown waterfront property into a public space containing a park and a green space. Unfortunately, the proposed site had a long history as an industrial site – initially for a coal gasification plant from 1854 to 1947 and then as a bulk oil storage facility from 1930 to 1990.

• Stable Chlorination & Easy Chemical Transport For Rooftop Cooling Towers With Sigura™ Cal Hypo

  Sigura™ calcium hypochlorite offers cooling tower operators and their service providers a highly effective biocide designed for controlling microorganisms to maintain system cleanliness, achieve associated production efficiency gains, and help guard against biofouling. Learn how a West Coast service provider's switch to Calcium Hypochlorite lead to a more consistent chlorine concentration and eliminated the need for frequent pump adjustments.

• PFAS In Our Water Supply: Treatment vs. Destruction

  As per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) demand increasing attention due to health, environmental, and regulatory concerns, the pros and cons of available treatment options should be thoroughly evaluated.

• How To Design A Better Carbon-Filtration Solution

  Being forced to add carbon filtration in order to comply with drinking water and wastewater regulations or other extreme industrial filtration requirements is challenging enough. Worrying about performance limitations that the treatment process might impose only compounds the problem. Here is a look at how synthetic carbon technology makes it easier to design a better filtration medium tailored to the most challenging process demands.

• Ozone In Water Purification And Bromate Formation

  The ozonation process for water purification is a powerful option for optimal disinfection and the reduction of micropollutants. Still, it may result in the formation of potentially toxic oxidation byproduct bromate in bromide-containing waters. This paper provides a high-level overview of the problem and highlights the main pathways of ozone decomposition and propositions to control bromates formation.