Over the past decade, the objectives for coagulation based drinking water treatment processes have changed significantly. These changes are a result of stringent goals related to natural organic matter (NOM) removal to mitigate the formation of subsequent harmful and health-related disinfection by-products (DBPs) and the need to achieve adequate filtration performance to ensure sufficient particle removal for pathogen control. Another concern associated with coagulation optimization is the potential unintended consequences of a coagulant change on the distribution system, specifically related to lead release from lead pipe and solder materials. Optimizing these multi-objectives in a direct filtration treatment process presents significant challenges for source waters characterized by low levels of turbidity, alkalinity and organic matter content. Bench and pilot-scale experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of ferric sulfate, polyaluminum chloride (PACl) and aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH) against aluminum sulfate (alum) using variable coagulation dosage and pH conditions for a direct filtration facility. Bench-scale experiments were conducted to optimize NOM removal during coagulation using traditional organic matter surrogates coupled with molecular size characterization techniques. Pilot-scale studies provided a snapshot of feasibility in terms of filtration performance for favourable bench-scale conditions and also identified optimal conditions for filtration performance. Results from pilot testing demonstrated that favourable conditions identified for increased potential NOM removals during bench-scale testing were significantly different than optimal filtration conditions identified during pilot studies; and, in fact, severely compromised direct filtration performance due to increased solids loading to the filters. Bench-scale experiments evaluated lead leaching from lead and lead:tin solder galvanically connected to copper under stagnant conditions using variable chloride-to-sulfate mass ratio (CSMR) conditions for alum, ferric sulfate and PACl. Although recent research identifies high CSMRs (>0.5) as the main mechanism of attack in distribution systems following coagulant changeovers, CSMR was not the primary catalyst for lead leaching following the coagulant changeover conditions evaluated in this study. Residual concentrations of iron and aluminum remaining following coagulation were the principal contributors. Positive correlations were revealed between particulate iron and particulate lead concentrations following stagnation demonstrating that the adsorption of lead to iron oxides is a viable hypothesis for lead release.

Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar o comportamento de um sistema de dupla filtração, utilizando filtro ascendente de pedregulho seguido de filtro rápido descendente na remoção de substâncias húmicas. A parte experimental foi realizada em uma instalação piloto, que utilizou como afluente a água do Ribeirão Feijão na qual foi adicionado extrato de substâncias húmicas, previamente extraído de solo turfoso por meio de extração alcalina, para que a cor verdadeira da água de estudo resultasse entre 90 e 110 uH. As condições de coagulação, como gradiente de velocidade, dosagem e pH, foram definidos em ensaios com jarteste. As taxas utilizadas no filtro ascendente em pedregulho foram de 80 e 120 m3/m2.dia e no sistema de filtração rápida descendente de 80, 120, 150, 180, 220 e 240 m3/m2.dia. As carreiras tiveram duração máxima de 72 horas. A utilização do critério de realização de Descargas de Fundos Intermediárias (DFIs), quando o efluente do Filtro Ascendente de Pedregulho (FAP) atingisse valor maior ou igual 50 uH, não permitiu aumento da cor no efluente final. O sistema de dupla filtração estudado foi eficiente na remoção de cor, atingindo diversas vezes remoção completa; outros parâmetros relativos à concentração de substâncias húmicas, como absorvância (254 nm) e Carbono Orgânico Dissolvido (COD), foram removidos entre 89,1 a 93,6% e 27,5 a 48,5% respectivamente. / The present work was carried out to evaluate the removal of humic substances in a double filtration system, comprising on upflow gravel prefilter followed by a rapid down flow filter. Raw water was abstracted from the influent took to the municipal water treatment Plant 2. Humic substances were extracted from peat through alkaline process. The concentrated solution was pumped to raw water in order to obtain true colour of 90-110 Hu in the influent to the pilot plant. Filtration rates studied were as follows: 80 and 120 m3/m2.day in the upflow filter 80, 120, 150, 180, 220 e 240 m3/m2.day in the down flow filter. Maximum filter run length was fixed in 72 hours. Intermediate down flushes in the upflow filter were performed during the run when the effluent colour reached 50 Hu. It is concluded that the system performed efficiently to remove colour; in most part of the effluent colour remained bellow 1 Hu. Absorbance (254 nm) removal resulted high (between 89,1% and 93,6%). Dissolved organic carbon resulted satisfactory (27,5% to 48,5%).

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho da remoção de cistos deGiardia spp. e oocistos de Cryptosporidium parvum, em águas de abastecimento com turbidez elevada, em experimentos em escala de bancada (coagulação, floculação, decantação e filtração). Para tanto, empregou-se o coagulante cloreto de polialumínio – PAC. O método de filtração em membranas foi adotado para a concentração de protozoários, seguido ou não da etapa de purificação por separação imunomagnética – IMS. Os métodos foram avaliados em experimentos de controle de qualidade analítica e o método sem IMS apresentou as seguintes porcentagens de recuperação, 80% ±16,32% para cistos de Giardia spp. e 5% ±10,00% para oocistos de C. parvum. O método com IMS apresentou 31,5%±7,55% de recuperação para cistos de Giardia spp. e 5,75%±3,20% de recuperação para oocistos de C. parvum. Os experimentos demonstraram que não houve melhora na remoção de ambos os protozoários na condição de maior dosagem de coagulante (65 mg.L-1 de PAC e pH 7,29). A condição de menor dosagem de coagulante (25 mg.L-1 de PAC e pH 6,76) apresentou um desempenho melhor, ao contrário de uma expectativa de que a maior dosagem de coagulante pudesse favorecer a remoção destes microrganismos. A condição de menor dosagem apresentou, na água filtrada, 50 e 75% de ausência de identificação de cistos de Giardia e oocistos de C. parvum, respectivamente. A condição de maior dosagem apresentou (oo)cistos na água filtrada de todas amostras analisadas. Estes resultados indicam a importância do controle da coagulação na remoção de protozoários. / The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Giardia spp. cysts and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts removal in a bench scale experiment. The coagulant polyaluminium chloride – PACl was used in this research. The protozoa concentration tests were performed by applying the Membrane Filtration method, with and without Immunomagnetic Separation assay-IMS. The methods were evaluated using control experiments and the method without IMS had the following percentage recovery, 80% ± 16.32% and 5% ±10.00% for Giardia cysts and C. parvum oocysts, respectively. The method with IMS presented 31.5% ± 7.55% and 5.75% ± 3.20% of percentage recovery for Giardia cysts and C. parvum oocysts, respectively. Bench scale experimental results have clearly shown that there was no improvement in protozoa removal using the superior dosage of coagulant. The inferior dosage condition (25 mg.L-1 of PACl and pH 6,76) performed better, which was contrary to what was expected in which a superior dosage of coagulant could favour when removing microorganisms. The inferior dosage condition presented 50% and 75% of absence of Giardia cysts and C. parvum oocysts in the final water, respectively. The second coagulation condition (65 mg.L-1 of PACl and pH 7,29) presented protozoa (oo)cysts in the final water of all the samples examined. These results indicate the importance of coagulation control in protozoa removal.

La matière organique naturelle (MON) est omniprésente dans les eaux de surface. Bien que l’exposition à la MON via l’eau potable soit commune et ne soit pas associée à des effets directs sur la santé humaine, la MON peut avoir des impacts négatifs sur la production d’eau potable, tels que la contribution aux goûts et odeurs, le développement du biofilm dans les systèmes de distribution et la formation de sous-produits de désinfection. La résine échangeuse d’ions en mode biologique (en anglais : Biological ion exchange, BIEX) est un processus prometteur pour l’enlèvement de la MON des eaux de surface. Il s’agit d’opérer la résine échangeuse d’ions dans un réacteur à lit fixe avec une régénération peu fréquente de sorte qu’une communauté microbienne peut se développer sur la surface de résine et ainsi contribuer à l’enlèvement de la MON par biodégradation. Néanmoins, les mécanismes de l’enlèvement de la MON dans le BIEX et la faisabilité de son application dans l’usine de production d’eau potable demeurent inconnus. Ainsi, l’objectif de cette thèse est 1) de comprendre et favoriser l’application du BIEX pour l’enlèvement de la MON des eaux de surface et 2) de résumer les stratégies qui peuvent alléger la gestion de la saumure engendrée par la régénération de résines. Les résines en forme chlorure et bicarbonate ont été d’abord évaluées pour l’application du BIEX où le pilote de BIEX a été alimenté par l’eau de surface pendant 9 mois sans régénération. Les résultats ont démontré que l’échange d’ions est le mécanisme dominant pour le BIEX, i.e., la MON échange avec les ions préchargés (i.e., chlorure et bicarbonate) et les ions préretenus (i.e., sulfate). En plus, les résines colonisées ont été prélevées du pilote et testées en laboratoire où les résines colonisées ont été mises en contact avec les composés de modèles (i.e., micropolluants organiques). Les résultats ont démontré que la biodégradation contribuait à l’enlèvement de micropolluants organiques sur les résines colonisées, mais le degré de biodégradation dépend des caractères de micropolluants organiques et la communauté microbienne sur les résines. Ensuite, le BIEX a été évalué en parallèle du charbon actif biologique (CAB) en filtration secondaire dans l’usine de production d’eau potable de Sainte-Rose. Les résultats ont démontré que bien que le BIEX ait réalisé un enlèvement du carbone organique dissous (COD) plus élevé par rapport à celui du CAB, il a une perte de charge plus significative et le rétrolavage de BIEX s’avère être plus complexe par rapport à celui de CAB. Finalement, une revue de littérature a été menée afin d’identifier les stratégies sur l’opération de résine et la gestion de saumure, et ainsi d’alléger la gestion de la saumure engendrée par la régénération de résines échangeuses d’ions. En somme, cette thèse permet de comprendre les mécanismes de l’enlèvement de la MON dans le BIEX, évaluer la faisabilité de son application dans l’usine de production d’eau potable ainsi qu’identifier les stratégies qui peuvent alléger la gestion de la saumure engendrée par la régénération de résines échangeuses d’ions. / Natural organic matter (NOM) is ubiquitous in surface water. Although the exposure to NOM via drinking water is common and is not associated with direct effects on human health, NOM can cause negative impacts on drinking water treatment, such as contribution to taste and odors, development of biofilms in distribution systems and formation of disinfection by-products. Biological ion exchange (BIEX) is a promising process for the removal of NOM from surface waters. It involves operating the ion exchange resin in a fixed bed reactor with infrequent regeneration so that a microbial community can develop on the resin surface and thus contribute to the removal of NOM by biodegradation. However, the mechanisms for the removal of NOM in BIEX and the feasibility of its application in the drinking water plant remain unknown. Therefore, the general objective of this thesis is 1) to understand and promote the application of BIEX for the removal of NOM from surface water and 2) to summarize the strategies that can alleviate the management of the brine generated by the regeneration of resins. Chloride and bicarbonate-form resins were first evaluated for the BIEX application where the BIEX pilot was fed with surface water for 9 months without regeneration. The results demonstrated that ion exchange is the dominant mechanism in BIEX, i.e., NOM exchanges with preloaded ions (i.e., chloride and bicarbonate) and pre-retained ions (i.e., sulfate). In addition, the colonized resins were harvested from the pilot and tested in the laboratory where the colonized resins were in contact with the model compounds (i.e., organic micropollutants). The results demonstrated that biodegradation contributes to the removal of organic micropollutants on colonized resins, but the extent of biodegradation depends on the characteristics of the organic micropollutants and the microbial community on the resins. Then, BIEX was evaluated in parallel with biological activated carbon (BAC) at the second-stage filtration of the Sainte-Rose drinking water treatment plant. The results demonstrated that although BIEX achieved higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal compared to BAC, it had a more significant pressure drop and the backwash of BIEX filters was proved to be more complex compared to that of BAC. Finally, a literature review was carried out to identify strategies on resin operation and brine management, and thus alleviate the management of the brine generated by the regeneration of ion exchange resins. Overall, this thesis allows understanding the mechanisms for the removal of NOM in BIEX, evaluating the feasibility of its application in drinking water production plants as well as identifying the strategies that can alleviate the management of the brine generated by the regeneration of ion exchange resins.

Bei der Aufbereitung von Rohwässern zu Trinkwasser fallen in der Regel unvermeidbare Rückstände an, die den gesetzlichen Bestimmungen entsprechend entsorgt werden müssen. Schlammhaltige Wässer, die den größten Anteil an Wasserwerksrückständen einnehmen, entstehen bei der Spülung von Filtern und enthalten nahezu alle aus dem Rohwasser entfernten Stoffe und nicht im Trinkwasser verbleibende Aufbereitungschemikalien. Während früher in vielen Wasserwerken Teile des schlammhaltigen Filterspülwassers nach einem Sedimentationsvorgang wieder in den Aufbereitungsprozess zurückgeführt wurden, ist dies in Deutschland auf Grund einer möglichen Beeinträchtigung der Trinkwasserqualität bei mikrobiologisch belasteten Wässern (z. B. Oberflächenwasser) ohne eine adäquate Behandlung (z. B. Ultrafiltration) nicht mehr erlaubt. Somit müssen schlammhaltige Filterspülwässer anderweitig entsorgt werden, z. B. durch eine Einleitung in die Kanalisation. Die dabei auftretenden Auswirkungen auf Abwasserbehandlungsanlagen sind noch nicht ausreichend bekannt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden unterschiedliche Ultrafiltrationsmodule (Kapillarmembranmodul und getauchtes Modul) hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung zur Aufbereitung aluminiumhaltiger schlammhaltiger Filterspülwässer und damit zur Rückführung des entstehenden Filtrates in den Aufbereitungsprozess untersucht. Die grundsätzliche Eignung beider Modulsysteme wird nachgewiesen. Bei Verwendung von getauchten Modulen kann auf eine vorangehende Sedimentationsanlage verzichtet werden. Als kritisch muss unabhängig vom gewählten Modulkonzept die Entsorgung des anfallenden Retentates angesehen werden, da die gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen Grenzwerte der Indirekteinleitung für mehrere Parameter nicht eingehalten werden. Bilanzierungen der relevanten Schadstoffe ergeben, dass der Schadstoffeintrag überwiegend diffus mit dem Rohwasser in das Wasserwerk erfolgt. Zur Untersuchung von Auswirkungen der Einleitung aluminiumhaltiger schlammhaltiger Filterspülwässer aus der Oberflächenwasseraufbereitung auf die Abwasserbehandlung wurden labortechnische Versuche zur Ermittlung des Phosphatadsorptionspotenzials durchgeführt. Neben der Abhängigkeit der Phosphatadsorptionskapazität vom pH-Wert wurde der Einfluss der Feststoffkonzentration des schlammhaltigen Filterspülwassers in Versuchen mit Modellwasser nachgewiesen. Eine Erhöhung der Feststoffkonzentration wirkt einer möglichst hohen Ausnutzung des Adsorptionspotenzials entgegen. Während für die Ultrafiltrationsbehandlung gegenüber der Indirekteinleitung ein Kostenvorteil ermittelt wird, ist die für die Nutzung des Phosphatadsorptionsanteils verfügbare Schlammmenge für einen alleinigen Einsatz in der Kläranlage bei gleichen Einzugsgebieten nicht ausreichend. / In most water treatment plants (WTPs), during the water purification process, residuals are generated that have to be disposed according to current regulations. Most of the residuals are derived from filter backwash processes (i. e. spent filter backwash water, SFBW) and contain substances that are removed from the raw water. In addition, in the spent filter backwash water, chemicals can be found that are required for the operation of the water treatment process and do not remain in the drinking water. Over recent decades, SFBW has been returned to the beginning of the water treatment plant (WTP) after a sedimentation process in order to reduce the amount of water being discharged. Concerns over the recycling of microorganisms, of heavy metals or precursors for disinfection by-products, have led to a significant reduction of the number of WTPs that directly return filter backwash water to the water treatment process. According to German technical standards, the reuse of SFBW might only be possible after the application of groundwater infiltration or an equivalent technique. Because of an almost complete recovery of particles and microorganisms, ultrafiltration treatment is a proven alternative to groundwater recharge of SFBW. In this work, different ultrafiltration modules for the treatment and reuse of SFBW are compared. Capillary as well as submerged membrane modules are suitable for the treatment of SFBW. If submerged membrane modules are used, no sedimentation period prior to ultrafiltration treatment is necessary. As a consequence of the accumulation of particulate matter including heavy metals and other compounds in the retentate during ultrafiltration treatment, threshold values of several regulations cannot be met, and either the discharge of retentate into the sewer will be charged or alternative disposal options must be considered. Mass balances for an entire WTP showed most of these contaminants to originate from non-point sources in the watershed. Lab-scale experiments are performed for the examination of the phosphate adsorption potential of SFBW derived from surface water treatment using aluminum-based coagulants. Besides a strong influence of the pH-value present in the SFBW, an influence of the TSS-concentration of SFBW on phosphate adsorption capacity could be demonstrated. Elevated TSS-concentrations resulted in a lower phosphate adsorption capacity of the investigated SFBW. While ultrafiltration treatment with subsequent reuse of SFBW might be cheaper than the discharge to the sewer system, the amount of SFBW required for a complete phosphate removal in the wastewater treatment plant is to large and therefore, no economic advantage of phosphate adsorption could be demonstrated

Historically, chlorination has been widely utilized as a primary and secondary disinfectant in municipal water supplies. Although chlorine disinfection is effective in inactivating pathogenic microbes, the use of chlorine creates the unintentional formation of regulated chemicals. On January 4, 2006, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the Stage 2 Disinfectants/Disinfection by-product rule (DBPR) that focuses on public health protection by limiting exposure to four trihalomethanes (THM) and five haloacetic acids (HAA5), formed when chlorine is used for microbial pathogen control. This thesis examines post-aeration TTHM formation when employing spray-aeration processes to remove semi-volatile TTHMs from chlorinated potable water supplies. A bench scale air stripping unit was designed, constructed and operated to evaluate spray aeration for the removal of the four regulated trihalomethane (THM) species from potable drinking water including bromodichloromethane, bromoform, dibromochloromethane, chloroform. The study was conducted using finished bulk water samples collected from two different water treatment facilities (WTFs) located in Oviedo and Babson Park, Florida. Both treatment plants treat groundwater; however, Oviedo's Mitchell Hammock WTF (MHWTF) supply wells contain dissolved organic carbon and bromide DBP precursors whereas the Babson Park WTF #2 (BPWTF2) supply well contains dissolved organic carbon DBP precursors but is absent of bromide precursor. Three treatment scenarios were studied to monitor impacts on total trihalomethane (TTHM) removal and post-treatment (post-aeration) TTHM formation potential, including 1) no treatment (non-aerated control samples), 2) spray aeration via specially fabricated GridBee® nozzle for laboratory-scale applications, 3) spray aeration via a commercially available manufactured BETE® nozzle used for full-scale applications. Select water quality parameters, chlorine residual, and total trihalomethane concentrations were monitored throughout the study. The GridBee® spray nozzle resulted in TTHM removals ranging from 45.2 ± 3.3% for the BPWTF2 samples, and 37.7 ± 3.1% for the MHWTF samples. The BETE® spray nozzle removed 54.7±3.9% and 48.1±6.6% of total trihalomethanes for the Babson Park and Mitchell Hammock WTF samples, respectively. The lower percent removals at the MHWTF are attributed to the detectable presence of bromide and subsequent formation of hypobromous acid in the samples. Post spray aeration TTHM formation potentials were monitored and it was found that the MHWTF experienced significantly higher formation potentials, once again due to the presence of hypobromous acid which led to increases in overall TTHM formation over time in comparison with the Babson Park WTF #2 TTHM formation samples. In addition, chlorine residuals were maintained post spray aeration treatment, and initial chlorine residual and trihalomethane concentrations did not significantly impact overall spray nozzle performance. Among other findings, it was concluded that spray nozzle aeration is a feasible option for the Babson Park WTF #2 for TTHM compliance. For Oviedo's Mitchell Hammock WTF spray aeration was successful in removing TTHMs, however it was not effective in maintaining DBP rule compliance due to the excessive nature of DBP formation in the water samples. This study was not intended to serve as an assessment of varying nozzle technologies; rather, the focus was on the application of spray aerators for TTHM removal and post-formation in drinking water systems.

Climate change is a global challenge that requires proactive action from municipalities, companies, and other organizations to prioritize sustainability in their daily operations. In the past few decades, life cycle assessment (LCA) approach has been successfully applied for environmental assessments in the drinking water sector. In this study, this approach has been used to present a comparative evaluation of the potential environmental impacts associated with nine different process alternatives for future drinking water production at Norrvatten. This study is a pioneering one that explores the potential of LCA as a decision support tool to prioritize and optimize environmental impacts during the operational phase in Swedish drinking water production. The nine alternatives are designed for the year 2050 to meet the average daily demand of 208 MLD for the 14 municipalities in the northern Stockholm region that Norrvatten supplies with drinking water. Out of the nine alternatives, the alternative based on direct filtration of raw water on nanofiltration membranes came out as the most environmentally friendly solution due to the use of renewable electricity from hydro and wind power. The results indicate that the potential environmental impacts are dominated by the use of chemicals in all alternatives, which in turn depends on the energy sources used for chemical production that are mostly dominated by fossil-based non-renewable sources. The impacts due to transportation and energy consumption are relatively less in Swedish drinking water production. Moreover, filtration through granulated activated carbon (GAC) is the most environmentally damaging treatment step, but regeneration of saturated GAC induces positive impacts in all alternatives. Among environmental impact categories, categories related to fine particulate matter formation; global warming, human carcinogenic toxicity, and human non-carcinogenic toxicity are the most significant in all alternatives. Several of the treatment technologies included in the nine alternatives, such as Nanofiltration, have only been tested on a pilot scale and have not been used for drinking water production at Norrvatten. So this study should be followed up and supplemented with better representative inventory data relevant to the Swedish context in order to contribute more effectively in making the future Swedish drinking water production more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Also, this study is based on the most recently available data that may not be valid in 2050 and the latest trends to substitute non-renewable energy sources with renewable sources may reduce the impacts due to chemical production and transportation in the future. Moreover, this LCA study does not include any aspects of water quality and treatment costs. Hence, while comparing different alternatives, the quality of the treated water and its production cost must also be taken into account. / Klimatförändringar är en global utmaning som kräver proaktivt agerande från kommuner, företag och andra organisationer för att prioritera hållbarhet i sin dagliga verksamhet. Under de senaste decennierna har livscykelanalys (LCA) använts för miljöbedömningar inom VA-sektorn. I denna studie har detta tillvägagångssätt använts för att presentera en jämförande utvärdering av den potentiella miljöpåverkan som är förknippad med den framtida dricksvattenproduktionen vid Norrvatten. Med hjälp av LCA så jämförs nio olika processalternativ för den framtida produktionen och kan på så sätt bidra till att prioritera och optimera processval utifrån miljösynpunkt. De nio alternativen är utformade för år 2050 för att tillgodose den genomsnittliga dagliga efterfrågan på 208 MLD för de 14 kommuner i norra Stockholmsregionen som Norrvatten försörjer med dricksvatten. Av nio alternativ kom alternativet baserat på direkt filtrering av råvatten på nanofiltreringsmembran som den mest miljövänliga lösningen på grund av användningen av förnybar el från vatten- och vindkraft. Resultaten indikerar att de potentiella miljöeffekterna domineras av användning av kemikalier i samtliga alternativ, vilket i i sin tur beror på de energikällor som används för kemikalieproduktion domineras av fossilbaserade energibärare. Effekterna på grund av transport och energiförbrukning är relativt låg i svensk dricksvattenproduktion. Filtrering genom granulerat aktivt kol (GAC) det mest miljöbelastande behandlingssteget, men regenerering av mättad GAC ger positiva effekter i alla alternativ. Bland kategorier för miljöpåverkan så är kategorier relaterade till bildning av fina partiklar; global uppvärmning, mänsklig cancerframkallande toxicitet och mänsklig icke-cancerogen toxicitet de viktigaste i alla alternativ. Flera av de behandlingstekniker som ingår i de nio alternativen, såsom Nanofiltration, har enbarts testats i pilotskala och inte använts för dricksvattenproduktion vid Norrvatten. Så denna studie bör följas upp och kompletteras med data som är relevanta för förhållanden vid Vättern Denna studie baseras också på tillgängliga data som kanske inte är giltiga 2050 och de senaste trenderna för att ersätta icke förnybara energikällor med förnybara källor som kan minska effekterna på grund av kemisk produktion och transport i framtiden. Dessutom innehåller denna LCA-studie inga aspekter av vattenkvalitet och behandlingskostnader.. Vid jämförelse av olika alternativ måste även kvaliteten på det behandlade vattnet och dess produktionskostnad beaktas.

Climate change and increasing population demands expansion of infrastructures in urban areas. Drinking water treatment plants are part of the critical infrastructure and must upgrade in the future. However, expansions and technological advancements often come with impacts on the environment. Therefore, this thesis compares two drinking water treatment technologies regarding its environmental impacts through a life cycle assessment. In specific, the thesis elaborates the impacts of membrane precipitation and conventional precipitation in the suspended solids removal stage at a treatment plant in Piteå, Sweden. The research addresses the environmental challenges posed by traditional and modern water treatment methods, providing insights and knowledge to more sustainable water practices. The research involves an attributional, comparative life cycle assessment. The findings from this thesis intend to guide decision-making for future drinking water treatment plant designs.  The research was conducted through an attributional and comparative LCA using SimaPro software based on ISO 14040-series standards. This approach allowed for a detailed analysis of both the operational and construction phases of the treatment technologies, considering various environmental impact categories.  The results indicate that membrane system presents for most impact categories, a lower  environmental impact in the combined configuration scenario. The combined configuration scenario includes for the membrane system calcium carbonate, aluminium sulfate and 95% reduced hypochlorite consumption. The conventional system considers in the combined configuration scenario aluminum sulfate and calcium carbonate This is primarily due to its efficiency in reducing chemical usage such as coagulants. However, if both systems use the same chemical composition (same coagulant, pH-controlling chemicals as in the base scenario), the conventional system becomes more environmentally friendly than the membrane system in most impact categories. This is mainly due to the additional CEB chemical consumption of the membrane system, which nullifies the advantage of lower consumed coagulants. Compared to the operational phase in both systems, the construction phase is insignificant over the lifetime of the treatment plants. The major hotspots are identified as operational chemicals and chemical enhanced backwash chemicals, which are used for the membrane system only. Scenario analysis shows that chlorine/aluminum-based chemicals such as polyaluminum chloride and hypochlorite have a high environmental impact and with reducing or even changing these chemicals major improvements can be achieved. Especially changing aluminum-based chemicals to iron-based chemicals show a significant decrease of impacts in all categories. Further, the scenario analysis shows that by changing lime to calcium carbonate, the environmental impacts can be reduced significantly. Therefore, the future focus should rely on reducing and changing chemicals, especially switching aluminum/chlorine based to iron-based chemicals. / Klimatförändringarna och den ökande befolkningen kräver utbyggnad av infrastrukturen i stadsområden. Reningsverk för dricksvatten är en del av den kritiska infrastrukturen och måste uppgraderas i framtiden. Expansioner och tekniska framsteg medför dock ofta påverkan på miljön. Detta examensarbete jämförs därför två tekniker för dricksvattenberedning med avseende på miljöpåverkan genom en grundlig livscykelanalys. Mer specifikt behandlar avhandlingen effekterna av membranfiltrering och konventionell fällning i steget för avlägsnande av suspenderade ämnen vid ett reningsverk i Piteå, Sverige. Forskningen tar upp de miljömässiga utmaningar som traditionella och moderna vattenbehandlingsmetoder innebär och ger insikter och kunskap om mer hållbara vattenmetoder. Resultaten från denna avhandling är avsedda att vägleda beslutsfattandet för framtida utformningar av dricksvattenreningsverk och erbjuder ett första verktyg för mer hållbara vattenbehandlingsmetoder.  Forskningen genomfördes genom en bokförande och jämförande LCA med hjälp av programvaran SimaPro baserat på ISO 14040-seriens standarder. Detta tillvägagångssätt möjliggjorde en detaljerad analys av både drifts- och konstruktionsfaserna för behandlingsteknikerna, med beaktande av olika miljöpåverkanskategorier.  Resultaten tydar på att membranfiltrering ger en lägre total miljöpåverkan vid vanliga förhållanden. Detta beror främst på dess effektivitet när det gäller att minska kemikalieanvändningen, t.ex. koaguleringsmedel. Men om båda systemen använder samma kemiska sammansättning (samma koaguleringsmedel) är det konventionella systemet mer miljövänligt än det konventionella systemet. Detta beror främst på den extra kemikalieförbrukningen för CEB i membransystemet, vilket upphäver fördelen med lägre förbrukning av koaguleringsmedel. Jämfört med driftsfasen i båda systemen är byggfasen obetydlig under reningsverkens livstid. De viktigaste aspekterna identifieras som driftskemikalier och kemikalier för kemiskt förstärkt backspolning, som endast används för membransystemet. Scenarioanalysen visar att klor-/aluminiumbaserade kemikalier som polyaluminiumklorid och hypoklorit har en hög miljöpåverkan och att stora förbättringar kan uppnås genom att minska eller till och med byta ut dessa kemikalier. Särskilt om aluminiumbaserade kemikalier byts ut mot järnbaserade kemikalier minskar påverkan betydligt i alla kategorier. Vidare visar scenarioanalysen att miljöpåverkan kan minskas betydligt genom att byta ut kalk mot kalciumkarbonat. Därför bör fokus i framtiden ligga på att minska och byta ut kemikalier, särskilt att byta ut aluminium/klorbaserade kemikalier mot järnbaserade kemikalier.

Clean drinking water is a vital part of our society and a basic human right. With an ever growing population and a decreasing quality of raw water, new methods need to be introduced to keep up with the demand for clean, biostable, and sustainable production of drinking water. The aim of this study is to evaluate Håbo municipality’s increasing usage of chemicals in their water treatment process and to investigate current and future possible technologies for water treatment for Håbo to make their process more sustainable. In this study four scenarios of different cost and change of today’s water treatment plants are presented, while our overall recommendation is to build a new facility. A new plant with new treatment methods such as ultrafiltration is most in line with Håbo municipality’s vision of decreasing chemical usage and sustainability, all while maintaining the water quality. Due to Håbo’s growing population and today’s water plants running close to maximum capacity, a new facility with a larger capacity should be considered.

[ES] La Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible establece una serie de retos ambiciosos para la comunidad mundial denominados Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS). Entre ellos se encuentran retos específicos como el acceso al agua potable y al saneamiento y una mejor planificación de los recursos hídricos, además de objetivos dirigidos con el fin de combatir las desigualdades y la discriminación, entre los cuales se incluyen los siguientes objetivos generales "no dejar a nadie atrás" y "llegar primero a los más rezagados". Hasta la fecha, se ha demostrado que estos retos son difíciles de cumplir, en parte porque son complejos, pero también debido a la inercia política. Por otra parte, las potabilizadoras son capaces de suministrar agua segura para el consumo humano, sin embargo, es posible que su calidad se vea deteriorada a lo largo de su recorrido por el sistema de distribución antes su llegada al consumidor; si el abastecimiento de agua se ve restringido, las posibilidades de degradación de la calidad física, química y, sobre todo, microbiológica a nivel doméstico se incrementan, por ese motivo, para garantizar la calidad del agua se debe asegurar la integridad física, química y cualitativa del agua. Al aplicar los métodos de análisis de riesgos a los sistemas de agua potable para el consumo humano, se está desarrollando como una importante técnica de gestión preventiva, que ya está ofreciendo resultados muy significativos a la hora de anticiparse a eventuales situaciones de peligro, lo que permite intervenir con rapidez y evitar el impacto de los eventos de origen natural contra las infraestructuras y el agua para el consumo humano. En esta tesis se aborda la problemática de la seguridad del agua destinada al consumidor, identificando los fundamentos de la buena gobernanza y proponiendo un nuevo enfoque para llevar a cabo un análisis del riesgo a lo largo de la cadena del agua, integrando la modelización predictiva y las técnicas de árbol de eventos y de fallos. El estudio ha demostrado la gran capacidad del nuevo enfoque para reproducir escenarios reales y evaluar los niveles de ooquistes después del tratamiento, teniendo en cuenta la heterogeneidad de los aportes resultantes de diferentes niveles de ooquistes contenidos en las aguas superficiales, la eficiencia del tratamiento, los controles del proceso y los aportes de agua. El nuevo planteamiento también puede utilizarse para la evaluación de la exposición de otros agentes patógenos en el agua, y en todas las etapas de la cadena del agua, con el fin de evaluar el impacto real de las desviaciones o los fallos en las condiciones del proceso y los controles de seguridad sobre el riesgo para los consumidores provocado por los agentes patógenos. / [CA] L'Agenda 2030 per al desenvolupament Sostenible estableix una sèrie de reptes ambiciosos per a la comunitat mundial denominat Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible (ODS). Aquests inclouen reptes com l'accés a l'aigua, el sanejament segur i una millor gestió de l'aigua, igual que objectius per a afrontar la desigualtat i la discriminació incloent propòsits generals per a "no deixar a ningú arrere" i "arribar primer als més ressagats". Fins hui, s'ha demostrat que aquests reptes són difícils de complir, en part perquè són complexos però també a causa de la inèrcia política. D'altra banda, les plantes de tractament d'aigua potable poden proveir aigua segura per al consum humà, però la seua qualitat es pot alternar durant el pas pel Sistema de Distribució d'Aigua abans d'arribar al consumidor; si el proveïment d'aigua és restringit, la possibilitat de deterioració de la qualitat física, química i principalment microbiològica a nivell intradomiciliària s'incrementa havent-se de protegir la integritat física, hidràulica i de qualitat de l'aigua per a garantir l'assegurament del subministrament de l'aigua potable. L'aplicació dels mètodes d'anàlisi de risc aplicats als serveis d'aigua i sanejament s'està convertint en una estratègia imprescindible en la gestió preventiva, que comença a mostrar resultats importants en l'anticipació oportuna de desastres potencials, facilitant les accions anticipades per a enfrontar les amenaces previsibles per a mitigar els impactes dels esdeveniments naturals en la infraestructura d'aigua i sanejament. En aquesta tesi s'aborda la problemàtica de la seguretat de l'aigua destinada al consumidor, identificant els fonaments de la bona governança i proposant un nou enfocament per a dur a terme una anàlisi de risc al llarg de la cadena de l'aigua, integrant la modelització predictiva i les tècniques d'arbre d'esdeveniments i de fallades. L'estudi ha demostrat la gran capacitat del nou enfocament per a reproduir escenaris reals i avaluar els nivells d'ooquistes després del tractament, tenint en compte l'heterogeneïtat de les aportacions resultants de diferents nivells d'ooquistes continguts en les aigües superficials, l'eficiència del tractament, els controls del procés. L'eficiència de la planta, l'eficiència del tractament, els controls del procés i les aportacions d'aigua. El nou plantejament també pot utilitzar-se per a l'avaluació de l'exposició d'altres agents patògens en l'aigua i en totes les etapes de la cadena de l'aigua, amb la finalitat d'avaluar l'impacte real de les desviacions o les fallades en les condicions del procés i els controls de seguretat sobre el risc per als consumidors provocat per agents patògens. / [EN] The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a series of ambitious challenges for the global community. These Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include targets for access to safe water and sanitation and improved water management, as well as goals to tackle inequality and discrimination, including overarching proposals to "leave no one behind" and "reach the most disadvantaged first". To date, these are challenges that have proved difficult to meet, partly because they are complex, but also because of political inertia. On the other hand, drinking water treatment plants can provide safe water for human consumption, but its quality can be altered during its passage through the water distribution system before it reaches the consumer; if the water sup-ply is restricted, the possibility of physical, chemical and mainly microbiological quality detection at the household level increases, and the physical, hydraulic and quality integrity of the water must be protected to ensure the safety of the drinking water supply. The application of risk analysis methods applied to water and sanitation ser-vices is becoming an important preventive management strategy, which is be-ginning to show significant results in the timely anticipation of potential disas-ters, facilitating anticipatory actions to address foreseeable hazards and to mit-igate the impacts of natural events on water and sanitation infrastructure. This thesis addresses the issue of consumer water safety by identifying the fundamentals of good governance and proposing a new approach for conduct-ing risk analysis along the water chain, integrating predictive modelling and event and fault tree techniques. The study has demonstrated the high capacity of the new approach to reproduce real scenarios and to evaluate the levels of oocysts after treatment, taking into account the heterogeneity of the inputs resulting from different levels of oocysts contained in the surface water, the efficiency of the treatment, the process controls and the water in-puts. The new approach can also be used for exposure assessment of other pathogens in water, and at all stages of the water chain, to assess the real im-pact of deviations or failures in process conditions and safety controls on the risk to consumers from pathogens. / Kombo Mpindou, GOM. (2023). Aportación a la implantación del análisis de riesgo en los sistemas de distribución del agua: caso del Cryptosporidium para distintos niveles de desarrollo tecnológico en la potabilizadora [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/193340