Natural manganese deposits as catalyst for decomposing hydrogen peroxide

Drinking water companies (are intending to) implement advanced oxidation processes (AOP) in their treatment schemes to increase the barrier against organic micropollutants (OMPs). It is necessary to decompose the excessive hydrogen peroxide after applying AOP to avoid negative effects in the following, often biological, treatment steps. A drinking water company in the western part of the Netherlands investigated decomposition of about 5.75 mg L−1 hydrogen peroxide in pre-treated Meuse river water with different catalysts on pilot scale. In down flow operation, the necessary reactor empty bed contact time (EBCT) with the commonly used granulated activated carbon (GAC) and waste ground water filter gravel (MCFgw) were found equal with 149 s, corresponding with a conversion rate constant r of 0.021 s−1. The EBCT of the fine coating of ground water filter gravel (MC) was significantly shorter with a little more than 10 s (r = 0.30 s−1). In up flow operation, with a flow rate of 20 m h−1, the EBCT of coating MC increased till about 100 s (r = 0.031 s−1), from which can be concluded, that the performance of this waste material is better compared with GAC, in both up and down flow operation. The necessary EBCT at average filtration rate of full scale dual layer filter material (MCFsw) amounted to 209 s (r= 0.015 s−1). Regarding the average residence time in the full scale filters of 700 s, applying AOP in front of the filters could be an interesting alternative which makes a separate decomposition installation superfluous, on the condition that the primary functions of the filters are not affected.