Electrochemical/granular Activated Carbon Hybrid System for Drinking Water Disinfection at Flow Conditions

Abstract

The electrochemical disinfection has gained much attention due to its simplicity, environmental sustainability and effective in-situ free chlorine generation. Since chloride present at low concentration in tap water, it has become possible to use electrolyzed tap water for disinfection. In the developing countries, the disinfection of tap water is a necessity to reduce the risks of the growth and transmission of pathogenic microorganisms in drinking water distribution systems. In this study, the electrochemical disinfection device EDI-001 equipped with titanium oxide (TiO2-x) ceramic electrodes combined with granular activated carbon (GAC) columns was examined for disinfection of drinking water at flow conditions. The GAC columns were used for removing the chlorine residuals from tap water to reach health authority standards. The results have shown that common microorganisms from tap water was completely disinfected within 15 minutes and total chlorine concentration level was decreased over 50% by using electrochemical/granular activated carbon hybrid system.