Characterization and coagulation of impurities in water treatment

Undesirable natural or anthropogenic compounds are commonly present in drinking water supplies. An ongoing challenge for water treatment is algal organic matter (AOM) produced by phytoplankton. A part of this thesis is devoted to the coagulation of AOM, specifically cellular organic matter (COM) and its peptide/protein and non-proteinaceous fraction. Besides investigating the coagulation in relation to the COM character, attention was paid to its interactions with other compounds and to the subsequent impacts on coagulation. Additionally, the involvement of an ozonation step was assessed. Another part of the thesis is focused on emerging anthropogenic water pollutants microplastics (MPs), particularly on their quantification and characterization at drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). It has shown that the optimum coagulation conditions differ for the COM peptides/proteins and the non-proteinaceous fraction. While the former were effectively removed at slightly acidic coagulation pH, the latter required coagulation pH around neutral and much higher doses of coagulant. The maximum removal efficiency for the non-proteinaceous fraction was much lower compared to that of the peptides/proteins (25% versus 75%), owing mainly to the high content of low-molecular weight (< 10 kDa) compounds. Further,...