Conscientious particle counting

Primary Determination of Particle Number Concentration with Light Obscuration and Dynamic Imaging Particle Counters

Accurate number concentrations of particles in liquid media are needed to assess the quality of water, pharmaceuticals, and other liquids, yet there are limited reference materials or calibration services available with clear traceability to the International System of Units. We describe two methods, based on very simple modifications of commercial particle counter instruments, that can provide traceable number concentration measurements. One method used a light obscuration counter. Fitting a model to the data enabled correction for timing and coincidence errors, and gravimetric calibration of the syringe pump gave a traceable determination of measured volume. Other potential biases were diagnosed by analysis of the particle size distribution. The other method used a dynamic imaging particle counter (a flow imaging microscope). The instrument was intentionally configured so that each particle passing through the flow cell was imaged multiple times. Following the particle image acquisition runs, runs with a rinse solution released and counted microspheres adsorbed to tubing or flow-cell walls. Software assembled the redundant particle images into tracks, and the total number of tracks was assigned as the number of particles counted. Both light obscuration and dynamic imaging methods, when applied to polystyrene microspheres of approximately 4 μm diameter, achieved expanded uncertainties (k = 2) of approximately 2 % of number concentration and agreed to within a difference of 1.1 %.

Characterisation of the behaviour of particles in biofilters for pre-treatment of drinking water

Biofiltration of surface water was examined using granular activated carbon (GAC) and expanded clay (EC). Particle removal was 60-90%, measured by flow cytometry, which enabled discrimination between total- and autofluorescent particles (microalgae) in size ranges of 0.4-1 and 1-15 microm, and measured by on-line particle counting. Total particles were removed at a higher degree than autofluorescent particles. The biofilters were also challenged with 1 microm fluorescent microspheres with hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface characteristics and bacteriophages (Salmonella typhimurium 28B). Added microspheres were removed at 97-99% (hydrophobic) and 85-89% (hydrophilic) after 5 hydraulic residence times (HRT) and microspheres retained in the biofilter media were slowly detaching into the filtrate for a long time after the addition. Removal of bacteriophages (5 HRT) was considerably lower at 40-59%, and no long-lasting detachment was observed. A comparison of experimental data with theoretical predictions for removal of particles in clean granular media filters revealed a similar or higher removal of particles around 1 microm in size than predicted, while bacteriophages were removed at a similar or lesser extent than predicted. The results highlight the selectivity and dynamic behaviour of the particle removal processes and have implications for operation and microbial risk assessment of a treatment train with biofilters as pre-treatment.

Integral water treatment plant modeling: improvements for particle processes

An update of research on particle behavior in water treatment plants first performed 25 years ago under the direction of Charles O'Melia is provided. The earlier work involved mathematical modeling of the changes in particle size distributions in the flocculation and sedimentation processes in water treatment plants. The current model includes corrections for short-range interactions between particles as they approach one another. These corrections severely reduce the expected collision frequency between particles that are very different in size and, therefore, substantially change the model predictions. Both experimental and field measurements of particle size distributions are provided; such measurements were unavailable in the earlier work and represent a touchstone to reality for the modeling efforts. The short-range model successfully fits experimental results for flocculation when the mechanism of particle destabilization is charge neutralization. However, the model does not account for the creation of new solids by precipitation either when hydrolyzing salts of aluminum or iron are added for particle destabilization by "sweep floc" destabilization or lime is added to remove calcium and magnesium as calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide in softening. The flocculent sedimentation model yields results that are in strong qualitative agreement with typical field measurements.

Treatment of drinking water residuals: comparing sedimentation and dissolved air flotation performance with optimal cation ratios

Spent filter backwash water (SFBW) and clarifier sludge generally comprise the majority of the waste residual volume generated and in relative terms, these can be collectively referred to as combined filter backwash water (CFBW). CFBW is essentially a low-solids wastewater with metal hydroxide flocs that are typically light and slow to settle. This study evaluates the impact of adding calcium and magnesium carbonates to CFBW in terms of assessing the impacts on the sedimentation and DAF separation processes. Representative CFBW samples were collected from two surface water treatment plants (WTP): Lake Major WTP (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) and Victoria Park WTP (Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada). Bench-scale results indicated that improvements in the CFBW settled water quality could be achieved through the addition of the divalent cations, thereby adjusting the monovalent to divalent (M:D) ratios of the wastewater. In general, the DAF process required slightly higher M:D ratios than the sedimentation process. The optimum M:D ratios for DAF and sedimentation were determined to be 1:1 and 0.33:1, respectively. It was concluded that the optimisation of the cation balance between monovalent cations (e.g., Na(+), K(+)) and added divalent cations (i.e., Ca(2+), Mg(2+)) aided in the settling mechanism through charge neutralisation-precipitation. The increase in divalent cation concentrations within the waste residual stream promoted destabilisation of the negatively charged colour molecules within the CFBW, thereby causing the colloidal content to become more hydrophobic.

Examination of plant performance and filter ripening with particle counters at full-scale water treatment plants

Filter performance has traditionally been assessed using turbidity as the main water quality parameter. However interest in process optimization and the ability to accurately monitor filtration and particle removal has led to particle counting becoming increasingly more popular. The objective of this research was to evaluate filtration performance and filter ripening at four full-scale water treatment plants. Most of the plants investigated in this study were capable of achieving 2 log total particle removal as well as an effluent turbidity of 0.1 NTU. In some cases 2 log removal was achieved in the lower particle size ranges of 2-5 and 5-10 microm. Log removals in this study compare particle counts in the filtered and raw water. For water treatment plants that do not filter to waste, the ripening period following a filter backwash represents a time where the plant may be most vulnerable to breakthrough of waterborne pathogens. For the plants studied, the ripening period which was defined as the time required to reach peak particle removal and a turbidity of 0.1 NTU, were very similar in duration. The ripening period generally lasted for one hour after the backwash event had been completed. Because the times to reach 2 log total particle removal and 0.1 NTU are similar, the practice of using 0.1 NTU turbidity as a measure of filter ripening may be a useful benchmark for utilities that do not have particle counters.