Chapter One Introduction

All over the world the presence of arsenic in water sources for human consumption has been raising great concern in terms of public health since many epidemiologic studies confirm the potential carcinogenic effect of arsenic. Because arsenic removal is the most frequent option for safe drinking water, the development of more efficient and sustainable technologies is extremely important. Membrane separation processes are suitable for water treatment because they can provide an absolute barrier for bacteria and viruses, besides removing turbidity and colour. Their application is a promising technology in arsenic removal since it does not require the addition of chemical reagents nor the preliminary oxidation of arsenite required in conventional treatment options. However, since membrane technologies such as reverse osmosis can be a very expensive and unsustainable treatment option for small water supply systems, it becomes crucial that alternative methods are developed. This work presents a few conclusions based on a laboratorial study performed to evaluate the efficiency of arsenic removal using ultrafiltration, microfiltration and solar oxidation processes under different experimental conditions for relevant parameters. The results showed removal efficiencies higher than 90%. Key-words: safe drinking water, arsenic removal, membranes, public health.

The goal of this project is to validate proof-of-concept testing for iron enriched granular activated carbon (GAC) composites (aerogel-GAC or iron-oxide impregnated) as a viable adsorbent for removing arsenic from groundwater and conduct technical and economic feasibility assessments for these innovative processes. Specific project objectives include: • Conduct batch experiments for aerogel-GAC and Fe-oxide impregnated GAC composites to evaluate their performance removing arsenic. • Evaluate Fe-GAC media performance in rapid small scale column tests (RSSCTs) to assess arsenic removal in a more dynamic treatment system. • Evaluate Fe-GAC potential for removal of other contaminants (e.g., methyl tertiary butyl ether, dissolved organic carbon). • Characterize Fe-GAC media. • Correlate performance and media characterization for possible selection of two media for a future second phase of this project.

• Describe how water treatment plants comply with their minimum federal and state monitoring requirements. • List the three ways in which management ensures that the staff complies with monitoring requirements. • Discuss reporting requirements when complying with federal and state regulations.

. Knowledge about the processes of the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater by biological processes . Knowledge about systems with enhanced biological treatment processes

Aluminium in drinking water comes from natural sources and the alum used as coagulant in the water treatment process. Exposure to aluminium has been implicated in dialysis dementia, Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease. Drinking water containing aluminium was considered to be one of the main sources of Al intake into human body. For this reason, the removal of aluminium from drinking water is vital to our health. In this study, removal of aluminium was carried out by using a chelating resin.

Darigold operates a milk products facility in Lynden, Washington. Production processes include evaporation of milk, which generates what is referred to as condensate of whey (COW) water. COW water contains low molecular weight organic compounds including traces of lactic acid, alcohols, acetoin, and non-protein nitrogen (Möslang, 2017). COW water and non-contact cooling water from the Darigold Lynden facility are currently discharged to Outfall 001, which combines with stormwater and the City of Lynden’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent discharge to the Nooksack River through the City’s outfall. Darigold’s discharge is regulated under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit No. WA0002470 administered by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). In the future, Darigold’s COW Water and non-contact cooling water will be directly discharged to the Nooksack River in a new outfall pipe (Outfall 002) currently being constructed by the City.