Variations in AOC and microbial diversity in an advanced water treatment plant

The objective of this study was to evaluate the variations in assimilable organic carbon (AOC) and microbial diversities in an advanced water treatment plant. The efficiency of biofiltration on AOC removal using anthracite and granular activated carbon (GAC) as the media was also evaluated through a pilot-scale column experiment. Effects of hydrological factors (seasonal effects and river flow) on AOC concentrations in raw water samples and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of biofiltration on AOC treatment were also evaluated. Results show that AOC concentrations in raw water and clear water of the plant were about 138 and 27 μg acetate-C/L, respectively. Higher AOC concentrations were observed in wet seasons probably due to the resuspension of organic-contained sediments and discharges of non-point source (NPS) pollutants from the upper catchment. This reveals that seasonal effect played an important role in the variations in influent AOC concentrations. Approximately 82% and 70% of AOC removal efficiencies were observed in GAC and anthracite columns, respectively. Results from column experiment reveal that the applied treatment processes in the plant and biofiltration system were able to remove AOC effectively. Microbial colonization on GAC and anthracite were detected via the observation of scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images. Results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and nucleotide sequence analysis reveal significant decrease in microbial diversities after the ozonation process. Higher HRT caused higher microbial contact time, and thus, more microbial colonies and higher microbial diversity were observed in the latter part of the biofilters. Some of the dominant microbial species in the biofiltration columns belonged to the beta-proteobacterium, which might contribute to the AOC degradation. Results of this study provide us insight into the variations in AOC and microbial diversity in the advanced water treatment processes.