Studies of effectiveness of odour removal from water during treatment processes

One of the most difficult problems to solve in preparing water for human consumption is removal of its odour. Numerous studies showed that a permanent problem with odours and inappropriate water taste are encountered by nearly 3% of water enterprises. In some water supply systems this phenomenon has an incidental nature while in nearly 10% of them this problem persists for over 150 d in a year [1]. Substances responsible for the odour are permanent and difficult to remove using standard treatment technologies. This paper presents the results of works undertaken to identify a source of odour in water as well as selection and evaluation of the effectiveness of its removal in technological processes. The studies were conducted on a pilot scale, in different configurations including several processes, such as pre-ozonation and post-ozonation, coagulation on rapid filters, sorption on activated carbon and final disinfection. The conducted studies allowed for confirmation of high effectiveness of reduction of an increased threshold odour number on activated carbon.