• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.598-602
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• 2008

The Daecheong Reservoir is the largest multi-purpose reservoir in the Keum River basin. This water supply is subject to some of the most serious taste and odor (T&O) problems in the region. The intensity of T&O events increased due to eutrophication during the 1990s. In this study, the temporal occurrence of T&O in raw water from the main Daecheong Reservoir and its regulating reservoir was compared using both an instrumental method (CLSA+GC/MS) and threshold odor number (TON) test from April to December 2006. In addition, biofilms on the submerged macrophytes and rocks were analyzed for two typical T&O causing compounds, Geosmin and 2-MIB. The maximum concentration of Geosmin in the main reservoir was almost two times higher than that in the regulating reservoir. Interestingly, 2-MIB was only detected in water samples from the main reservoir. In the case of T&O causing compounds present in the biofilm on the submerged macrophytes and rocks, the regulating reservoir had lower concentrations compared to those of the main reservoir. It was found that both Geosmin and 2-MIB were detected from the biofilms much earlier than from the water samples. This result suggests that the occurrence of T&O compounds in the biofilms could be used as an early warning indicator of an imminent T&O outbreak in the water body.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.219-228
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• 2012

Problems due to the taste and odor in drinking water are common in treatment facilities around the world. Taste and odor are perceived by the public as the primary indicators of the safely and acceptability of drinking water, and are mainly caused by the presence of two semi-volatile compounds-2-methylisoborneol(2-MIB) and geosmin. Conventional treatment processes in water treatment plants, such as coagulation, sedimentation and chlorination have been found to be ineffective for the removal of 2-MIB and geosmin. Pulse UV system is a new UV irradiation system that is a non-mercury lamp-based alternative to currently used continuous wave systems for water disinfection. This study shows pulse UV system to be effective in treatment of these two compounds. Geosmin removal efficiency of UV process alone achieved approximately 70% at 10sec contact time. 2-MIB removal efficiency of UV only process achieved approximately 60% at 10sec contact time. The addition of $H_{2}O_{2}$ 7mg/L increased geosmin and 2-MIB removal efficiency upto approximately 94% and 91%, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.849-855
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• 2006

Taste and odor (T&O) problems in drinking water supplies caused by eutrophication have become increasingly important because aesthetic qualities are the primary measures by which consumers estimate the quality of their drinking water. In order to overcome T&O problem, it is necessary to early detection method for T&O compounds before these compounds enter to water treatment plant. In this background, a early waming device for T&O compounds was developed and its performance tested under different operating condition. According to the experimental results on the adsorption efficiency of T&O compounds, when the raw water flowrate was 5 mL/min, the optimum stripping time and air flowrate were 5 hrs and 0.5 L/min, respectively. Comparison of activated carbon showed that foreign activated carbon was better than domestic activated carbon in terms of adsorption efficiency.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.523-529
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• 2008

Algal blooms in a local eutrophic lake often produces the musty and earthy taste & odor problems. Since the odor causing compounds(OCCs) including geosmin and 2-MIB have their own volatility, the OCCs can be removed from water by air stripping methods. Removal of TON(threshold odor number) as an index for OCCs could be fitted well with the first order equations($R^2=0.9$ above), where the air stripping coefficient of TON, k was in the range between 0.0055 and 0.0097 according to the aeration time. k within 30min aeration tests was 0.0097, while it was 0.0055 where the aeration time extended to 150min. With 15 mg/L of PAC, removal of TON was not simulated with 1st order equation within 30min aeration. Within 30min aeration, OCCs rather than geosmin and/or 2-MIB could be removed easily by air stripping or PAC adsorption, while OCCs such as geosmin and/or 2-MIB could be removed slowly by air stripping after 30min aeration. Geosmin and 2-MIB were not readily removed by air stripping(k of them were 0.0018~0.0047 and 0.0018~0.0034, respectively at different air flow rates). Geosmin could be removed by air stripping a little better than 2-MIB.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2007

The water treatment plants in Seoul Metropolitan Area, which are under Korea Water Resources Corporation(KOWACO)'s management, take water from Paldang Reservoir in Han River System for drinking water supply. There are taste and odor (T&O) problems in the finished water because the conventional treatment processes do not effectively remove the T&O compounds. As part of countermeasures for taste and odor control, KOWACO is planning to introduce advanced water treatment process such as ozone and GAC in near future. This study evaluated the removal characteristics of T&O and dissolved organic matter (DOM) to find design and operation parameters of advanced water treatment processes in a pilot-scale treatment plant. The GAC adsorption capacity for DOC in the two GAC system (GAC and $O_3$-GAC) at an EBCT of 14min was mostly exhausted after 9months. The differency of the removal efficiency of DOC between $O_3$-GAC and GAC increased with increasing operation time because the bioactivity in $O_3$-GAC process was enhanced by post-ozone process. Removal by conventional treatment was unable to reach the target TON(threshold odor number) of 3 but GAC systems at an EBCT(empty bed contact time) of 14 min were able to archive the target with few exception. During the high T&O episodes, PAC as a pretreatment together with GAC could be useful option for T&O control. However, substantial TON removal continued for more than two year (> 90,000 bed volumes). At the spiking of less concentration 26 to 61 ng/L in the influent of GAC systems, GAC absorber and $O_3$-GAC processes could meet the treatment target. The better spike control after 12 and 19 months of operation compared to that after 7 months of operation is a strong indication of biological control. The results presented in this study had shown that $O_3$-GAC process was found to be more effective for T&O control than GAC process. And the main removal mechanism in GAC systems were adsorption capacity and biodegradation.

• 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 Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.12-24
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• 1994

The occurrence of objectionable tastes and odors in drinking water is a common and widespread problem. The most troublesome odors are usually those described as muddy or earthy-musty. Two organic compounds which have been implicated as the cause of earthy-musty odor problems in water are geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol. These earthy-musty organics have been shown to be metabolites of actinomycetes and blue green algae. The purpose of this paper is to describe adsorbability in removing these two oder causing compounds(geosmin and 2-MIB) upon various conditions like pH variation, adding humic acid and different activated carbon. The conclusion of this study are as followings. In batch test, carbon dosage is 10mg/100ml for geosmin and 15mg/100ml for 2-MIB. Both were in equilibrium state after 60 hours. In model simulation, F-P model described experiment data and modelling data appropriately in geosmin but F-S model not. In case of 2-MIB, models didn't describe relation between experiment and modelling data well. Two causative agents of earthy-musty odor compounds, geosmin and 2-MIB, are strongly adsorbed by activated carbon either coconut or brown. There appears to be no effect of pH (3,7,9) on adsorption of these two organics. Activated carbon proved to be more effective for removing geosmin than for removing 2-MIB. When activated carbon is. used in removing these two organics, the removal of these appeared to be adversely affected by back ground organic compounds, such as humic substances, due to competitive adsorption.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of IIIuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers Conference
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.242-244
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• 1998

Over the years manufactures have become increasingly aware of the importance of water purity and its effect on the quality of the final product. One of the largest problems that confronts pure water system operators is bacterial recontamination shortly after the water purification equipment. There are several recommended methods of either preventing or recommended methods of either preventing or removing such contamination but most have inherent disadvantages. Drinking water has required new treatment techniques such as ozonation and granular activated carbon(GAC) filtration. Ozone is known to be a powerful oxidant and disinfectant. Therefore it has been found to be necessary for the treatment of taste, odor and color as an oxidant of inorganic and organic compounds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.176-179
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• 2003

Fuel oxygenates, such as Methyl tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) is additive in gasoline used to reduce air pollution. Gasoline components and fuel additives can leak form underground storage tanks. MTBE is far more water soluble than gasoline hydrocarbons like BTEX then it travels at essentially the same velocity as groundwater. MTBE in drinking water causes taste and odor problems. Therefore, the purpose of the this study is to examine the ability of ground rubber to sorb MTBE form water. The study consisted of running both batch and column tests to determine the sorption capacity and the flow through utilization efficiency of ground rubber. The result of Column test indicate that ground tire rubber has on the 36% utilization rate. Finally, it is clear that ground rubber present an attractive and relatively inexpensive sorption medium for a MTBE. The Author thought that to determine the economic costs of ground rubber utilization, the cost to sorb a given mass of contaminant by ground rubber will have to be compared to currently accepted sorption media.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2007

The low nutrient environment in drinking water treatment plants and distribution systems cannot to be a good environment for bacterial growth. However, biofilms can be frequently found submerged surface in treatment plants and distribution system. Biofilms in distribution system are harmful, in that they can release organisms, and may cause problems in taste and odor of water. Control of these Biofilms is difficult, and disinfection alone is usually ineffective. Biofilms will not be eliminated from distribution systems by any contemporary technology available now or in the future. Therefore reduction of organic matter, improved disinfection, or a combination of these methods can be useful in controlling distribution system biofilms.