Advisory Committee Chair
Robert W Peters
Advisory Committee Members
Fouad Fouad
Brian Gregory
Jason Heberling
Jason Kirby
Tingting Wu
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2019
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Engineering
Abstract
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering University of Alabama at Birmingham ABSTRACT This dissertation used a holistic approach to research ways to optimize disinfection by-product (DBP) reduction during each sector of the conventional drinking water treatment process, regardless of the source water type or quality, in an overall effort to meet the USEPA Stage 2 Disinfection/Disinfection By-Products Rule (D/DBPR). DBPs are formed from the reaction between naturally occurring total organic carbon (TOC) in the water and disinfectants used during the treatment process. For this dissertation, effective treatment was measured by the amount of TOC that was removed through the various treatment processes that were being evaluated. This work determined how certain aspects of poor source water quality directly affected the treatment process and provided methods for overcoming those obstacles. This study focused on four raw water sources for the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB): Inland Lake, Lake Purdy, Cahaba River, and Mulberry River; as well as three BWWB drinking water filter plants; Shades Mountain Filter Plant (SMFP), Carson Filter Plant (CFP), and Western Filter Plant (WFP), to provide examples of various types of raw source water conditions and provide valuable treatment optimization techniques for overcoming those obstacles. Treatment sectors that were evaluated included raw water quality, chemical treatment or coagulation, and dual media (specifically sand and anthracite) filtration processes. Keywords: TOC, DBP, source water contamination, drinking water, treatment optimization, USEPA Stage 2 DBP Rule, BWWB
Recommended Citation
Nabors, April, "Optimizing TOC Removal for DBP Reduction in Drinking Water while Overcoming Source Water Variations" (2019). All ETDs from UAB. 2552.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/2552
