Preparation of Drinking Water from the Surface Water of the Danube–A Case Study

Investigations of the removal of organic micropollutants (9 groups, 55 compounds, according to the EPA classification) from the Danube surface water to produce drinking water were carried out by two procedures. In the first procedure, micropollutants were oxidized with chlorine and the residues removed by means of powder active carbon * (PAC). The second procedure involved microbiological oxidation on biologically active carbon ** (BAC).It was found that the Danube water treatment with 15 mg/dm3 of chlorine in the presence of PAC (60–90 mg/dm3), followed by coagulation with 51.1 mg/dm3 Al2(SO4)3 and 2.5 mg/dm3 FeCl3 resulted in the removal of the majority of the micropollutants. Furthermore, the BAC system was more efficient than the system involving PAC in removing organic micropollutants, especially those belonging to the pesticides and polyaromatics groups. A general conclusion would be that the BAC system is advantageous in respect of the removal of both total organic load and some micropollutants. * powdered activated carbon; ** biologically activated carbon