Traitement physico-chimique d'une eau souterraine fortement chargée en fer et en manganèse
Conventional greensand treatment for the removal of iron and manganese from groundwater is not quite appropriate for waters with a high content of iron and manganese. In this pilot study, different modifications to this process were tested to improve treatment performances for water with a high concentration of iron and manganese: addition of a settling tank, use of sand and anthracite covered with manganese oxides, and aeration. Different oxidants and oxidation sequences were also tested. Results show that the presence of a high quantity of iron significantly improves removal of manganese. These results also confirm that manganese oxidation can be realized with free chlorine inside a filter bed other than greensand, provided that the excess of free chlorine is sufficient. Within the conditions studied, the target area for filtration performances can be attained for every treatment sequence tested and for a filtering aid dose ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 mg/L. Although groundwater aeration leads to better settling performances, it also accelerates head loss in the filtering bed when a filtering aid is present.Key words: groundwater, iron, manganese, pilot study, treatment, separation.