The growth of heterotrophic microbes in water distribution systems causes deteriorations in the quality of drinking water and increases corrosion of pipelines. Microbial growth in drinking water can also be prevented by efficient removal of nutrients required for microbial growth. The limiting nutrient for microbial growth in drinking water is supposed to be organic carbon or phosphorus. In central Europe and Northern America, microbial growth is generally limited by organic carbon, especially by a fraction called Assimilable Organic Carbon (AOC) The AOC test was first proposed by Van der Kooij, the water samples are collected in very clean, AOC-free glassware, and then heated to kill the indigenous bacterial population and inoculated with one or more test organisms. The sample is incubated, and growth of the test organisms is monitored. The stationary-phase level (Nmax) of bacteria is proportional to the amount of limiting nutrient in the water. The nutrient level in a sample is converted into carbon equivalents with an empirically derived yield coefficient of the organism for a selected growth substrate. Cell yield with may vary different carbon compounds. The time needed to perform the assay islimited by the incubation temperature, the inoculum density and sample volume. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the optimum conditions of AOC analysis to minimize the analytic time. Through this study, the results show that the optimum temperature is 20 ¢J, the optimum inoculum density is 400-500 CFU/mL, Biodegradable Total Organic Carbon (BTOC) and Biodegradable Organic Carbon (BDOC) test made AOC test without the need for plate count and increase the accuracy of AOC analysis.

Earlier studies indicate that the interaction between heterotrophic bacteria and dissolved organic matter is rather different in rivers and estuaries. The aim of my thesis was to elucidate if bacteria are regulated differently in the Råne river and estuary during a spring situation. Surface water was collected at both locations and a bioassay performed to study limiting substances for bacterial production, proportion bio-available dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the water and bacterial growth efficiencies (BGE). The Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosperous concentrations were all higher in the estuary than in the river. The bioassay showed that nitrogen-phosphorus limited the bacterial production at both locations, while DOC occurred in excess. The bio-available part of the DOC pool was larger in the estuary (~6%) than in the river (~3%). However, the BGE was much higher in the river (~40%) than in the estuary (~5%), indicating that a larger proportion of the consumed DOC was used for respiration in the estuary. I conclude that heterotrophic bacteria are limited by the same substance, but that the bacterial metabolism is quite differently regulated in the river and in the estuary.

Halten organiska kolföreningar ökar i svenska ytvatten till följd av bland annat klimatförändringar och förändrad markanvändning i avrinningsområdet. Organiskt kol bidrar till färg, smak och lukt på vattnet och fungerar även som substrat för akvatiska mikroorganismer. Ungefär hälften av svenskt dricksvatten produceras idag från ytvatten. Det är av stor vikt att det organiska kolet, och då särskilt den bionedbrytbara lösta kolfraktionen, BDOC, renas bort från dricksvatten då dessa kolföreningar annars kan utgöra en fara för dricksvattensäkerheten. Vid Lovö vattenreningsverk i Stockholm testas nu en ny jonbytesbaserad reningsprocess i pilotskala för att förbättra vattenreningen av ytvatten med förhöjda halter organiska kolföreningar. För att undersöka och utvärdera den nya reningsprocessen togs vattenprover på ingående råvatten och därefter mellan varje steg i den jonbytesbaserade reningsprocessen. För jämförelse genomfördes samma provtagning i den fullskaliga, konventionella reningsprocessen, en process som idag producerar dricksvatten till konsumenter i norra delen av Stockholm. Proverna inkuberades i mörker i 20° C under cirka tre veckor. Under tiden utfördes mätningar och prover togs för analys. De parametrar som analyserades var syrgaskonsumtion, förändringar i bakteriehalt och halten totalt organiskt kol (TOC), samtliga med målet att kvantifiera den mikrobiella tillväxtpotentialen och innehållet av BDOC. Analyserna visade att det nya processteget i pilotanläggningen, som baseras på suspenderade anjonbytare, har potential att rena bort delar av den bionedbrytbara fraktionen av TOC. Det efterföljande, desinficerande, ozoneringssteget oxiderar därefter delar av kvarvarande TOC till mer bionedbrytbar form. Det allra sista reningssteget, ett granulerat aktivt kolfilter var ej i drift under projektet. Detta steg har dock i andra studier visats rena bionedbrytbart kol effektivt, varför den sammantagna bedömningen är att den nya reningsmetoden har god potential för rening av bionedbrytbara kolföreningar.

Biological filtration (Biofiltration) processes have been used first in Europe and then in North America for decades, however currently there is not a good overall parameter to guide biofiltration design and operation except adopting parameters from traditional particle- removal filtration process. On the basis of the biofilm model developed by Rittmann and McCarty (1980a) and the pseudo-analytical solution for the model, Zhang and Huck (1996a) obtained an analytical solution for PF (plug flow) reactors (which can be used for biofilters approximately) after demonstrating that axial dispersion could be reasonably ignored and developed a new parameter, X*, which incorporates considerations of physical contact time, filter media particle size, kinetics, etc. A small-scale application on peers’ engineering/research data by Huck (1999) demonstrated it was a better indicator than other parameters for biofiltration performance. By collecting, screening and investigating literature on AOC, BDOC and odorous compounds removal by biofiltration process, this thesis applied the X* concept to the collected investigations to assess process performances among different target parameters, different filters and different investigations. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first such attempted comprehensive comparison of literature studies, interpreted in terms of a common parameter (X*). The wide ranges of particle sizes, EBCTs, temperatures and high diversity of pre-treatment and operation conditions for the collected cases were considered to be able to well represent biofiltration practices for studied removal targets. No significant relationship between EBCTs and removal percentages were found, indicating that EBCT alone is not able to guide biofiltration design and operation. Based on kinetics parameter comparison, BDOC removal-X* relationship was established. A new parameter, θα, was developed in this thesis to refer to estimated X* values only considering EBCT and particle size. θα parameter values were estimated by comparison of ratios of θα products ((θα)’) based on the properly chosen calculation bases. Distribution of the θα values for temperature-favored (i.e. temperature ≥15°C) AOC and BDOC removal biofiltration processes matched the established removal-X* relationship reasonably. Given the exploratory nature of this research and the complexity of attempting quantitations, fits were assessed based on visual comparison. With the assistance of supporting information and by adopting available temperature activity coefficients, temperature-adjustment coefficients for θα values were determined for the different temperature ranges. Temperature-adjusted AOC and BDOC removal-θα relationships were developed and temperature-adjusted θα parameter values for AOC and BDOC removal were also estimated. Comparisons were conducted, showing fair matches based on visual examinations, for most of the temperature ranges. No relationships were found between ozone dosages and AOC/BDOC removal percentages and the statistical analysis indicated there was significant difference of removal efficiencies between ozonated and non-ozonated influents for biofilters, suggesting ozonation may not only increase the amount of BOM for following biofilter and increase the biodegradability of bulk water; it may also increase the biodegradability of AOC and BDOC themselves. It may not be realistic to obtain the estimated θα values for MIB and geosmin removal by biofiltration. However, plotting θα product vs. removal percentage for the collected MIB and geosmin removal cases shows more positive co-relationships than EBCT-removal percentage relationships visually. A utilization factor η was proposed to guide biofilter design and operation and to assess “over-design” and “under-operated”. Biofilter over-design or under-operated is common for the collected cases. In general, examining X* (or θα, a parameter incorporating the physical components of X*) provided useful information in terms of evaluation and prediction of biodegradable organic compounds removal by biofiltration, which confirms that X* is a better parameter for biofiltration design and operation than other parameters, such as EBCT.

Biological filtration (Biofiltration) processes have been used first in Europe and then in North America for decades, however currently there is not a good overall parameter to guide biofiltration design and operation except adopting parameters from traditional particle- removal filtration process. On the basis of the biofilm model developed by Rittmann and McCarty (1980a) and the pseudo-analytical solution for the model, Zhang and Huck (1996a) obtained an analytical solution for PF (plug flow) reactors (which can be used for biofilters approximately) after demonstrating that axial dispersion could be reasonably ignored and developed a new parameter, X*, which incorporates considerations of physical contact time, filter media particle size, kinetics, etc. A small-scale application on peers’ engineering/research data by Huck (1999) demonstrated it was a better indicator than other parameters for biofiltration performance. By collecting, screening and investigating literature on AOC, BDOC and odorous compounds removal by biofiltration process, this thesis applied the X* concept to the collected investigations to assess process performances among different target parameters, different filters and different investigations. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first such attempted comprehensive comparison of literature studies, interpreted in terms of a common parameter (X*). The wide ranges of particle sizes, EBCTs, temperatures and high diversity of pre-treatment and operation conditions for the collected cases were considered to be able to well represent biofiltration practices for studied removal targets. No significant relationship between EBCTs and removal percentages were found, indicating that EBCT alone is not able to guide biofiltration design and operation. Based on kinetics parameter comparison, BDOC removal-X* relationship was established. A new parameter, θα, was developed in this thesis to refer to estimated X* values only considering EBCT and particle size. θα parameter values were estimated by comparison of ratios of θα products ((θα)’) based on the properly chosen calculation bases. Distribution of the θα values for temperature-favored (i.e. temperature ≥15°C) AOC and BDOC removal biofiltration processes matched the established removal-X* relationship reasonably. Given the exploratory nature of this research and the complexity of attempting quantitations, fits were assessed based on visual comparison. With the assistance of supporting information and by adopting available temperature activity coefficients, temperature-adjustment coefficients for θα values were determined for the different temperature ranges. Temperature-adjusted AOC and BDOC removal-θα relationships were developed and temperature-adjusted θα parameter values for AOC and BDOC removal were also estimated. Comparisons were conducted, showing fair matches based on visual examinations, for most of the temperature ranges. No relationships were found between ozone dosages and AOC/BDOC removal percentages and the statistical analysis indicated there was significant difference of removal efficiencies between ozonated and non-ozonated influents for biofilters, suggesting ozonation may not only increase the amount of BOM for following biofilter and increase the biodegradability of bulk water; it may also increase the biodegradability of AOC and BDOC themselves. It may not be realistic to obtain the estimated θα values for MIB and geosmin removal by biofiltration. However, plotting θα product vs. removal percentage for the collected MIB and geosmin removal cases shows more positive co-relationships than EBCT-removal percentage relationships visually. A utilization factor η was proposed to guide biofilter design and operation and to assess “over-design” and “under-operated”. Biofilter over-design or under-operated is common for the collected cases. In general, examining X* (or θα, a parameter incorporating the physical components of X*) provided useful information in terms of evaluation and prediction of biodegradable organic compounds removal by biofiltration, which confirms that X* is a better parameter for biofiltration design and operation than other parameters, such as EBCT.