Supervisor

Associate Professor Saatha Sathasivan

 Water treatment for drinking
Water treatment is any process that makes water more acceptable
for a drinking.
Water treatment removes contaminants or reduces their
concentration so that the water becomes fit for drinking purpose.

Figure : Water Treatment Process

 Activated carbon
Biologically activated carbon is a material which is being used to
solve water purification issues.
Activated carbon is a manufactured, permeable adaptation of carbon
that has various utilizations, particularly adsorption and chemical
response requirements for water and gas refinement.
Produced from raw carbon materials like coconut shell by (heat)
treating with oxygen creating many tiny pores (m2 g1) between the
carbon atoms.
Produced by two methods namely
physical reactivation;(Heat treatment) 840 m2 g1
and
chemical activation ;(Heat & zinc chloride) 2400 m2 g1
 History and Usages
In Hindu reports dating from nearly 400 BC says that charcoal was
applied for the treatment of water.
Applications of Activated carbon today includes
Water treatment and Waste water treatment ,
Medical Industry applications
Gas purification.
Metal extraction and so on.
 Five primary steps of water treatment

Disinfection
Chlorine is added to the water for disinfection.
Coagulation and flocculation
Alum is added in proportion to the river turbidity to form floc particles
created from the suspended materials in the water.
Sedimentation
The water travels through Sedimentation Basins where the heavier
material settles. Coagulation and flocculation remove turbidity as well as
metals, including arsenic.
Filtration
Following sedimentation, the water travels through an extensive filtration
process that removes sediment and other suspended materials.
Corrosion control
At the end of the treatment process, pH is adjusted with caustic soda
(NaOH) to reduce corrosion in plumbing systems.
 Project
How to use activated carbon for industrial usage?
Water purification is one of the important areas to be focussed.
(Adsorption & Absorption capacity of BAC to treat Water)

1 2 3

Figures : I &2 Column with BAC , 3 TOC-L HTCO TOC analyser

The Testing Apparatus
 Biologically Activated Carbon
Mechanism
Dissolved organic carbon is an impurity which can be removed by
activated carbon very effectively using bacterial biodegradation
within the pore structure.

Figures: Bio degradation in pore structure

 Research Objectives
The location of Activated Carbon in the process line is essential when
considering the appropriate usage. (Three alternative locations shown)

Optimizing the water retention time,

Environmental condition,
Back washing time
 Out Comes
Improved Cost Effectiveness
Healthy Society With elongated life span
(Biological oxidation within GAC filters can be efficient for the removal
of inorganics such as ammonia. Ammonia is a toxic chemical which
promotes bio growth and reacts with chlorine. The combined removal of
DOC and ammonia leads to a significant reduction of the chlorine
demand of the finished water. A reduced chlorine demand lowers the
amount of disinfection by-products and improves the aesthetic quality
of the water.)
Proposed Time-Frame of the
Research Study
 References
References
Ferhan, C. and O zgu r, A. (2012). Activated Carbon for Water and Wastewater
Treatment. WILEY-VCH, 1 edition.
Inagaki and Michio (2014). Advanced Materials Science and Engineering of Carbon.
Elsevier, 1 edition.
ji Wu, S., Yang, W., Zhou, J., Wang, H., and miao Xie, Z. (2015). Eects of properties
of activated carbon on its activity for mercury removal and mercury desorption from
used activated carbons. Energy & Fuels, 29:19461950.
Michio, I. and Feiyu, K. (2014). Materials Science and Engineering of Carbon:
Fundamentals,. Butterworth-Heinemann, 1 edition.
Passantino, B. (2013). Activated Carbon: Solutions for Improving Water Quality.
American Water Works Association, 1 edition.