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Developing an Ozone Design Standard for Ohio Public Water Systems; Streamlining Innovation for Smaller Communities

Fuchs, Josh D
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu168205676738691

Abstract Details

2023, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Civil Engineering.
Ozone and ozone followed by biologically active filtration (ozone-BAF) for drinking water treatment can be used to effectively address various contaminants, including two of the largest health-related treatment issues that Ohio public water systems (PWSs) face: chlorination disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and cyanotoxins. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) uses the Ten State Standards (TSS) (GLUMRB, 2022) for approving detail design plans (“Plan Approval”) of capital improvement projects for PWSs in Ohio. However, ozone is considered an emerging technology in Ohio, defined as a treatment technology without extensive design criteria in the TSS or another Ohio EPA guideline. As a result, emerging technologies, including ozone treatment, often require pilot-scale demonstration for Plan Approval. Pilot-scale demonstration is a barrier for PWSs due to the added cost, time, logistical challenges, and expertise required. These challenges are more substantial for small and medium-sized PWSs than for larger PWSs. Consequently, less appropriate technologies may be installed when a pilot-scale demonstration study is required, leading to lower drinking water quality and/or higher costs for PWSs. To continue innovation for PWSs in Ohio, the Ohio Water Resources Center (Ohio WRC) has partnered with the Ohio EPA to develop design standards for emerging technologies, along with extensive collaboration from various stakeholders, including design engineers, water utility professionals, USEPA representatives, and Ohio AWWA Technology Committee representatives. The first design standard for Low-Pressure Membrane (LPM) filtration (M. E. Patterson et al., 2021) is currently under final Ohio EPA review. Presented in this document is the second design standard - for ozone treatment of oxidizable organics. Ohio EPA plans to also adopt this design standard into Plan Approval policy. The purpose of the design standard is to streamline Plan Approval of ozone design in Ohio and increase the feasibility for PWSs to implement ozone as an innovative solution to improve finished drinking water quality and public health. Specifically, the standard provides design criteria that allow approval using bench-scale testing and/or a desktop evaluation rather than a required pilot-scale study. The design standard includes requirements and recommendations for three components: 1) demonstrating critical ozone design parameters, 2) water quality considerations during ozone or BAF design, and 3) other design components. A design protocol was created for two groups of target contaminants within the scope of the standard: oxidizable organics and DBP precursors. For oxidizable organics, bench-scale testing is recommended in place of pilot-scale testing. For DBP precursors reduction, a protocol was developed to estimate this using desktop analysis and/or bench-scale testing in place of pilot-scale testing. The protocol uses a developed ozone-BAF TOC reduction model paired with a site-specific DBP model. The TOC reduction model was developed with data from 15 pilot and full-scale ozone-BAF studies throughout North America (N.A.). Tables were generated for expected ozone-BAF TOC reduction as a function of applied ozone/total organic carbon (O3/TOC) ratio, empty bed contact time (EBCT), temperature, and filter media type. A DBP modeling method was developed for a design firm (the Design Engineer) for a given project to create a model that estimates site-specific DBP reduction using historical and/or bench-scale testing data. The TOC reduction model and DBP modeling method were validated for how well they predict future conditions. The developed approach can be used successfully for design demonstration. However, there are some limitations, and further validation is to be performed. The TOC reduction model validation had satisfactory results with 95th percentile confidence intervals of ±1-2% for average TOC reduction and an actual vs. modeled TOC reduction for full-scale water treatment plants (WTPs) within 2-3 percentage values for 3/3 WTPs analyzed. For the DBP modeling method, the combined TOC and DBP modeling results were satisfactory for 4/6 datasets analyzed. Predictions were overly conservative when modeling with historical data only (because it uses data from non-ozonated water). However, predictions were accurate (within 3 to 5 percentage values for the 2/2 datasets tested) when incorporating the effect of ozonated water on DBP formation into modeling using simulated distribution system (SDS) testing data. Based on these results and input by project stakeholders, a detailed protocol was developed to help lower the time, cost, and challenges for the regulatory approval of ozone. This document describes the process of developing the design standard document. A draft of the design standard (not included in this document) will be provided to Ohio EPA in 2023 for review and adoption.
Linda Weavers (Advisor)
Timothy Wolfe (Committee Member)
Allison MacKay (Committee Member)
Natalie Hull (Committee Member)
223 p.
Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering
emerging; technology; ozone; biofiltration; BAF; design; standard; design standard; innovation; Ohio; public water systems; PWSs; regulatory approval; TOC model, DBP model

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fuchs, J. D. (2023). Developing an Ozone Design Standard for Ohio Public Water Systems; Streamlining Innovation for Smaller Communities [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu168205676738691

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fuchs, Josh. Developing an Ozone Design Standard for Ohio Public Water Systems; Streamlining Innovation for Smaller Communities . 2023. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu168205676738691.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fuchs, Josh. "Developing an Ozone Design Standard for Ohio Public Water Systems; Streamlining Innovation for Smaller Communities ." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu168205676738691

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu168205676738691
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© 2023, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.
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