Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2016NY228B

Innovative water treatment by chitosan modified diatomaceous earth for small public water systems in rural areas

Institute: New York
Year Established: 2016 Start Date: 2016-03-01 End Date: 2017-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $15,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $30,884

Principal Investigators: Xinchao Wei

Project Summary: The objective of the proposed work is to develop an innovative sustainable drinking water treatment technology for resource-constrained small public water systems in Mohawk Valley, Upstate NY, using chitosan modified diatomaceous earth (DE) to remove a group of dissolved contaminants (natural organic matters, arsenic, and nitrate). DE of different sizes and permeability will be modified by a chitosan biopolymer of different origins and grades to achieve the uniform thin coating on DE surfaces. The new adsorbent will have the unique properties of both DE (good mechanical strength, large surface area, and good permeability) and chitosan (ubiquitous biopolymer with outstanding versatile adsorption capacity). The adsorption performance in removing the target contaminants, alone and in combination, will be examined by batch adsorption tests. The effectiveness of the chitosan modified DE will be tested using pilot adsorption columns to treat water from two rural small public water systems in Mohawk Valley. It is expected that this innovation will enable resource-constrained pubic small water systems in many rural areas to manage a cluster of contaminants and precursors, and provide safe drinking water for their communities by using a viable, cost-effective, and sustainable technology.