• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.585-589
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• 2010

In order to evaluate the performance of a powdered activated carbon (PAC) contactor, two water treatment plants (WTP) were selected as target sites. The result of tracer tests showed that the plug flow portion of a bisymmetry-type contactor (H WTP) was more than 70%. A maze-type contactor (C WTP) also had more than 70% of plug flow portion after intra-basin baffles were installed. According to the operating data of the target WTPs, there was no clear evidence that the addition of PAC contributed to the removal of organics. However, the results of jar tests, conducted with the raw water taken from the H WTP, proved that PAC could remove dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to some extent when the proper velocity gradient was maintained. It was estimated that the production rate, defined as the ratio of the operating flowrate to the design flowrate, of the C and H WTPs was only 27 and 50%, respectively. Because of these lower production rates, the mixing intensity in the contactor was much less than the designed value and, finally, the performance of the PAC contactor was much lower than what was expected.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.341-348
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• 2007

The efficiency of powdered activated carbon (PAC) for removing taste and odor (T&O) in drinking water supplies is dependent on the contact time, quality of mixing, and the presence of competing compounds. All of these are strongly influenced by the stage in the treatment process at which the PAC is added. In conventional water treatment plants (WTPs), PAC is commonly added into the rapid mixing basin where chemicals such as coagulants, alkaline chemicals, and chlorine, are simultaneously applied. In order to prevent interference between PAC and other water treatment chemicals, alternative locations for addition of PAC, such as at transmission pipe in the water intake tower or into a separated PAC contactor, were investigated. Whatever the location, addition of PAC apart from other water treatment chemicals was more effective for geosmin removal than simultaneous addition. Among several combinations, the sequence 'chlorine-PAC-coagulant' produced the best result with respect to geosmin removal efficiency. Consequently, when PAC has to be applied to cope with T&O problems in conventional WTPs, it is very important to prevent interference with other water treatment chemicals, such as chlorine and coagulant. Adequate contact time should also be given for adsorption of the T&O compounds onto the PAC. To satisfy these conditions, installation of a separated PAC contactor would be the superior alternative if there is space available in the WTP. If necessary, PAC could be added at transmission pipe in the water intake tower and still provide some benefit for T&O treatment.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.221-229
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• 2002

For the efficient design of baffled Powdered activated carbon(PAC) contractor, which has been widely used in water treatment plant(WTP) against the algae-related odor problems, a CFD(computational fluid dynamics) program was applied. In order to verify the performance of FLOW-3D program, the previously reported results of tracer tests from a pilot-scale PAC contractor(working volume of 288 liters) were compared to those from FLOW 3D. The results of FLOW-3D simulation were very similar to those from tracer tests conducted with the Pilot-scale PAC contactor. On the other hand, the hydrodynamic characteristics of baffled contractor in the P-WTP were simulated by using FLOW-3D. Simulation results on the distribution of PAC particles showed that there are some stagnant parts in the back side of baffles in which PAC Particles are not present. These stagnant parts might decrease the adsorption capacity of PAC particles. When the baffles were changed to maze-type intra-basin baffling, PAC particles were evenly distributed and the amount of stagnant parts reduced. In conclusion, it is anticipated that FLOW-3D simulation could be a viab1e tool for analyzing the hydrodynamic characteristics of structures used in drinking water treatment plant.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.517-526
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• 2009

This research has been conducted to investigate the characteristics of hydraulic behavior within the PAC contactor, the rectangular shape sedimentation basin without inclined tube and the other one with inclined tube those are parts of demonstration plants(capacity : $2,000m^3/d$) in Korea Institute of Water and Environment. As results of tracer tests, the flow within PAC contactor was evaluated to divided into plug flow and dead space distinctly, and characteristics of dead space was close to that of CSTR(Complete/continuous Stirred Tank Reactor). Also, considering Reynolds number, Froude number, Morill, Modal, NCSTR Inex and plug flow/mixed flow fraction, in the case of the rectangular shape sedimentation basin without inclined tube, the characteristics of flow pattern was close to CSTR. On the other hand, in the case of the basin with inclined tube, the region of CSTR decreased precisely compared with the case of no-tube. Until now we have recognized that the inclined hydraulic structure just reduces the surface loading rate within a sedimentation basin. Actually besides, the inclined structure have an important effect on the hydraulic behavior within the basin.