Characterization of microbial regrowth potential shaped by advanced drinking water treatment

Microbial regrowth in premise plumbing is a threat to water safety. Disinfectant residuals are often diminished during water transportation and stagnation, leading to the regrowth of opportunistic pathogens. Although microbial regrowth potential is mostly determined by water treatment, little is known about how each treatment step affects two key factors that contribute to microbial regrowth potential: biodegradable organic matter and microbial abundance. In this study, we operated annular reactors to evaluate the microbial regrowth potential of water shaped after each treatment step in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant with ozonation and biological activated carbon filtration. The assimilable organic carbon and total cell count (TCC) were stable at all treatment steps during the sampling period from July to October 2015. The assimilable organic carbon consumption and TCC net increase in the annular reactors indicated that apparent growth yields (cell number base) of microbial communities were different in each reactor. Regrowth potential evaluated by indigenous microbial community in finished water was reduced to 22% of that in raw water, while 75% of assimilable organic carbon in raw water remained in finished water. It suggested that treatment performance evaluated by indigenous microbial communities was better than that evaluated by assimilable organic carbon.

Occurrences and changes in bacterial growth-promoting nutrients in drinking water from source to tap: A review

Biostable drinking water, which does not support bacterial growth and community changes, is obtained by removing bacterial growth-promoting nutrients, such as assimilable organic carbon (AOC), through a range of treatment...

Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant

Fouling caused by organic matter and bacteria remains a significant challenge for the membrane-based desalination industry. Fouling decreases the permeate quality and membrane performance and also increases energy demands. Here, we quantified the amount of organic matter and bacteria at several stages along the water-treatment train of an integrated ultrafiltration–nanofiltration seawater treatment pilot plant. We quantified the organic matter, in terms of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Assimilable Organic Carbon (AOC), and evaluated its composition using Liquid Chromatography for Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD). The bacterial cells were counted using Bactiquant. We found that ultrafiltration (UF) was effective at removing bacterial cells (99.7%) but not TOC. By contrast, nanofiltration (NF) successfully removed both TOC (95%) and bacterial cells. However, the NF permeate showed higher amounts of AOC than seawater. LC-OCD analysis suggested that the AOC was mostly composed of low molecular weight neutral substances. Furthermore, we found that the cleaning of the UF membrane using chemically enhanced backwash reduced the amount of AOC released into the UF permeate. By implementing the cleaning-in-place of the NF membrane, the pressure drop was restored to the normal level. Our results show that the UF and NF membrane cleaning regimes investigated in this study improved membrane performance. However, AOC remained the hardest-to-treat fraction of organic carbon. AOC should, therefore, be monitored closely and regularly to mitigate biofouling in downstream processes.