Removal of odor-producing chemicals from water by oxidation and adsorption techniques

Abstract

The Central Arizona Project (CAP), exposed to nutrient deposition and abundant sunlight, will have seasonal odor problems derived from algal metabolism. Two methods of odor-removal were investigated, and geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol odor-removals, from both odor-free and CAP waters, were achieved using either adsorptive or oxidative techniques. Adsorptive odor-removal was effective from a threshold odor number (TON) of 20 to a TON of 1 with the use of powdered activated carbon. Oxidative odor-removal was also effectively possible using odor-free water, from a TON of 100 to a TON of 1 either with the use of UV lightcatalyzed hydrogen peroxide addition or with the simultaneous use of ozone and hydrogen peroxide. Removal of odors produced by the lysis of the alga Anacvstis nidulans in CAP waters was possible using uncatalyzed ozonation from a TON of 40 to 1 but was not effectively achieved using activated carbon adsorption.