Sustainable Reuse of Groundwater Treatment Iron Sludge for Organic Matter Removal from River Neris Water

Abstract

The most important advances in sustainability in the water industry are focused on the reuse of water treatment sludge. The Antaviliai Water Supply Plant, which is located in Lithuania, treats groundwater by removing iron and manganese from it. This technology does not produce water waste, as the iron sludge is used for recycling. In this study, iron sludge received from groundwater treatment is used to remove natural organic matter from river Neris water, which can be used as drinking water. Twelve doses (from 1 to 6 g/L and from 0.1 g/L to 0.9 g/L) of iron sludge powder, with acid and without it, were used. The most effective removal of organic compounds (55.51%) and reduction in water colour (53.12%) were observed when 0.3 g of iron sludge powder and 8 ml of 0.95% H2SO4 solution were added to the tested water. It was found that the use of a conventional coagulant (Al2(SO4)3*17H2O), with and without iron sludge powder, decreased the concentration of organic compounds and water colour from 2.8 to 28.2% compared with the use of a pure coagulant (Al2(SO4)3*17H2O) alone.