Effect of drinking water treatment process parameters on biological removal of manganese from surface water

• Manganese oxidizing bacteria (MOB) can oxidize and remove soluble Mn in a biofilter as low as pH 6.3.
• Biological Mn removal can be achieved without adversely affecting organics removal.
• Acclimated MOB can tolerate short-term changes in influent parameters.
• Different MOB communities may display differing Mn removal behavior with varying conditions.
• Acclimation and stress events may be important for achieving Mn removal by microbial means.

Soluble manganese (Mn) presents a significant treatment challenge to many water utilities, causing aesthetic and operational concerns. While application of free chlorine to oxidize Mn prior to filtration can be effective, this is not feasible for surface water treatment plants using ozonation followed by biofiltration because it inhibits biological removal of organics. Manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) readily oxidize Mn in groundwater treatment applications, which normally involve pH > 7.0. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential for biological Mn removal at the lower pH conditions (6.2–6.3) often employed in enhanced coagulation to optimize organics removal. Four laboratory-scale biofilters were operated over a pH range of 6.3–7.3. The biofilters were able to oxidize Mn at a pH as low as pH 6.3 with greater than 98% Mn removal. Removal of simulated organic ozonation by-products was also greater than 90% in all columns. Stress studies indicated that well-acclimated MOB can withstand variations in Mn concentration (e.g., 0.1–0.2 mg/L), hydraulic loading rate (e.g., 2–4 gpm/ft2; 1.36 × 10−3–2.72 × 10−3 m/s), and temperature (e.g., 7–22 °C) typically found at surface water treatment plants at least for relatively short (1–2 days) periods of time.

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