Analysis and removal of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) from treated drinking water using a biological activated carbon filter system

• Assimilable organic carbon (AOC) removal in treated drinking water was documented.
• The biological activated carbon filter (BACF) in a pilot-scale system was described well to reduce value of AOC at normal temperature and pressure.
• We have demonstrated that BACF are a good method for reducing trace dissolved organic carbon in treated drinking water.
• The correlation among the AOC value with parameters of water quality was to establish an empirical equation for replacing the complex measurement of AOC values in drinking water.

This study is focused on reducing the concentration of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) in treated drinking water. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of AOC removal by biological activated carbon filters (BACF) in a pilot-scale system. The results show that BACF reduces the total concentration of AOC. The concentration of AOC primarily indicates microorganism growth in a water supply network, and the amount of AOC in water is significantly reduced after BACF treatment. The predicted and measured values of AOC in output water treated by the BACF system show linear relationships, and their correlation coefficients are high. An AOC empirical equation was established by determining the relationship between water quality parameters such as total organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, UV254, ammonia nitrogen, and total phosphorous. These findings may be relevant to conventional water treatment plants or to water distribution systems to provide treated drinking water with a high level of biological stability.