Research of filter media influents on water quality

Abstract

Ground water is the main drinking water source in Lithuania. The main problem of the ground water is enlarged concentrations of iron, ammonium and manganese. Organic compounds have a big influence on the removal of these chemical elements. The coagulation process can be used to remove the organic compounds. While the organic compounds are removed from water the removal of iron, ammonium and manganese is an easier process. Different kinds of filter medias are used for water filtration. This paper shows the result of the investigation on the removal of iron, ammonium, manganese and organic compounds by using filter medias like quartz sand, zeolite, BIRM and NEVTRACO. After running a number of analyses with water containing enlarged concentrations of iron, manganese, ammonium and organic compounds it was observed that zeolite and NEVTRACO is the best for iron reduction. Manganese reduction is about the same rate in all filter medias; however BIRM is better at reducing manganese compared to the other filter medias. Investigation showed that zeolite increases manganese concentration but reduces ammonium better than all the rest of filter medias.