Year

2013

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Computing, Engineering & Construction

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)

Department

Engineering

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. School of Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Christopher Brown

Second Advisor

Dr. Thobias Sando

Third Advisor

Dr. Stuart Chalk

Department Chair

Dr. Murat Tiryakioglu

College Dean

Dr. Mark A. Tumeo

Abstract

As Florida’s population continues to grow and urbanization increases, traditional freshwater sources are in danger of being exhausted. Wastewater reuse programs offer a way to create a potable offset in order to protect these freshwater sources and the environments in which they are found. Reuse regulations for the disinfection of wastewater are increasingly becoming more stringent. In addition to tough regulations, operating costs have also become a driving force behind a movement to assess new and potentially economical chemicals and processes for disinfection. The objective of this thesis is to assess the disinfection performance of peracetic acid (PAA), an alternative chemical that can be used for the disinfection of wastewater in reuse programs. A pilot study was conducted at the Miller St. Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) located near Orange Park, Florida. The pilot study consisted of three phases that were designed to determine the dosage of PAA required to meet Florida’s reuse regulations for treatment plants that provide high-level disinfection, quantify disinfection by-product (DBP) formation and aquatic toxicity, and investigate the effectiveness of utilizing multiple chemical injection points in series with smaller doses of acid. The results showed that the disinfection performance of PAA were comparable with the chlorination system currently in use at the plant when the proper dosage was used. In addition to its disinfection performance, the study showed that disinfection with PAA did not produce harmful amounts of DBP that are normally associated with chlorine-based disinfection.

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