WATER At W in neke Treatment Plant, alu minium sulp hate in solution is added to promote coagulation and allow removal of remaining particulate and colloidal suspended matter, including most micro- organisms, by settling and fi ltration. It is clear that the use of aluminium sulphate in the process leads to a conside rable decrease in the total aluminium concentration and does not add significantly to the level of dissolved forms of alu mini um in the wa ter suppli ed to the distribu tion sys tem , which remained at ca lOµ g/L.
Acknowledgements Thanks are due to Melbourne Water for permission to carry out this study, to Noel M iles at W inneke Treatme nt Plant for assistance in planning and sampling and to Alex Harrison and Robyn Reid at Melbourne Water Laboratory for assistance with some of the analyses.
Table 4 Results of Al, Fe and Mn (µg/L) for th e Sugarloaf Reservoir on
24 .1.1994 Depth (m)
0
5
10
25
35
45
Al total Al 1% HN03 Al <0.45µm Al particle Al colloidal Al <0.003µm
112 102 68 44 53 15
150 136 81 69
195 143 87 108
132 112 71 61
120 105 74 46
ND ND
ND ND
ND ND
136 96 73 63 63 10
12 5 7
10 5 5
10 5 5
9 4 5
5 1 1
ND ND ND
ND ND ND
160 142 94 66
183 133 125 58
9 7 2 7
13 10 7 6
Al Al Al
mono
Al Al Al
Al(OH)3
org inorg
Al(OH)4Al(OH )2+
Fe total Fe 1%HN03 Fe <0.45µm Fe particle Mn Mn Mn Mn
total 1%HN03 <0.45µm particle
70 0fftake
Inlet
ND ND
121 108 69 52 60 9
162 146 64 98 54 10
1745 1461 105 16 40 76 29
9 4 5
8 4 4
7 4 3
10 5 5
28 17 13
ND ND ND
4 1 <1
ND ND ND
2 1 <1
4 1 <1
10 2 1
230 150 100 130
221 138 110 111
220 150 120 100
178 14 0 1 08 70
212 145 96 116
253 144 121 132
19 11 1250 2 17 1694
15 11 10 5
12 10 9 3
14 11 10 4
16 12 13 3
102 92 82 20
8 5 2 6
48 48 9 39
"'
ND: Not detected
References ANZE CC/ NHMRC (1994). Draft standard recommended for Al. Copy supplied by Dr Graeme Batley, CSIRO Ce ntre for Advanced Analytical Chemistry, Lu cas H eights R esearch Laboratories, NSW 2234. APHA, American Public H ealth Association. Methods for the 1989 . Standard Examination of Water and W aste W ater. 17th Ed. American Public Health Association. Washington, D.C. Barn es, R .B. 1975 . The determination of specific form s of aluminiu m in water. Chem. Ceo/. 15: 177. Beckett, R ; Nicholson, G; H art , B.T; Hansen, M. and Giddings, J.C. 1988. Separation and size characterization of colloidal particles in river water by sedimentation fi eld-flow fractionation. Water R es. 22 : 1535 . Broe, M.E. and Coburn, J.W. 1990. Aluminum and renal failure. Kluwer academic publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London. ronan, C.S. et al. 1989. Aluminum toxicity in forests exposed to acidic deposition: the albios results. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. 48: 181. Ori coll , C.T. 1984. A procedu re for the fractionation of aqueous aluminum in dilute acidic waters. [nt. J. Environ. Anal. Chem. 16: 267. Landsberg, J.P.; M cDonald, B. and Watt, F. 1992 . Absence of aluminium in neuritic plaque cores in Alzheimer's disease . Na ture. 360: 65. LaZerte , B .D. 1984. Forms of aqueous alumin um in acid ifi ed ca tchments of Central Ontario: a methodological analysis. Can. ]. Fish. Sci. 41 : 766. Liss, L.; Long, J. and Thornton, D. 1990. Chapter 18 : Aluminium neurotoxicity, disease, and alcoholi c Alzheimer's In : Environmental encephalopathy. C hemistry and Toxicology of Aluminium. Lewis, T.E . Ed. Lewis Publishers, INC . USA. Loescher, B. 1984. Aluminium speciation in natural waters. (Atomic absorption) Varian instruments at work. AA-40. McCahon , C.P .; Bron, A.F.; Poulton , M.J. and Pascoe, P. 1989. Effects of acid, aluminum and lime additions of fi sh and invertebrates in a chronically acidic W elsh. Water, A ir, and Soil Poll11tio11 . 45: 345. Melbourne Water (1992). Winneke Treatment Plant. M elbourne Water.
Table 5 Aluminium species as percentages of total alum inium for fo ur investigat ions Spec ies Al 1% HN03 Al particle Al <0.45µm Al co ll oid Al <0.003µm Al mono Al inorg
6 .9 .1993 65 59 41 35
(6 1 -67) (50-64) (36-50) (31-40) 5 (4-7) 5 (4-7) 3 (2-5)
4.10. 1993 85 53 47 45
(77-95) (47-61) (39-53) (42-48) 4 (3-4) 3 (2-4) 2 (1 -2)
8. 11.1993 80 54 46 41
(72-8 4) (43-62) (42-57) (33-48) 6 (5-9) 6 (5 - 9) 3 (3-5)
24. 1.1994 84 45 55 49
(71-9 1 ) (38-55) (45-62) (47-51} 8 (6-11) 7 (5-11) 4 (3-6)
Ave rage
79 53 47 43
(6 1 -95) (38-64) (36-62) (31-51) 6 (3 - 11) 6 (2- 11) 3 (1 -6)
Table 6 Iron species as perce ntages of total iron Species Fe Fe Fe Fe
particle <0.45µm
6 .9.1993
4 .10.1993
8 .11.1993
24.1.1994
Average
50 (47 - 53) 50 (4 7 - 53)
42 (33-53) 58 (47-67) 53 (46-59) 7 (6 - 8)
38 (33-43) 62 (57-67)
46 (39-57) 54 (43-68)
ND ND
ND ND
44 (33-57) 56 (4 2-68) 53 (46-59) 7 (6-8)
co lloid <0.003µm
ND ND
ND : Not detected
N eville, C.M . and Campbell , P.G.C . 1988. Possible mechanisms of aluminum toxicity in a dilute, acidic environment to fingerling and older life stages of salmonids. Water, A ir and Soil Pollution. 42: 31 1. NHMRCJAWRC (1987). Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality in Australia. National H ealth and Medical R esea rch Council and Australian Water R esources Council. Au stralian Government Publishing Service, Canberra . Nilsson, R. (1992). R esidual aluminium concentration in drinking water after treatment with aluminium or iron salt or apatitehealth aspects. Water Supply 10(4): 55 . Shuman , L.M. ; Wilson, D.O. and Ramseur, E.L. 1991. T estin g aluminum-chelate equilibria models using sorghum root growth as a bioassay fo r aluminum. Water, A ir, and Soil Poll11tion. 57- 58: 149. Stumm, W . and Morga n, J.J. 1981. Aquatic C hemi stry. 2nd Ed. Wiley- lnterscience . New York. U.S . EPA. Center for Exposure Assessment Modelling, U.S. Environmental Protection of Research and Agency, Office D eve lopment , Environmental Research Laborato ry. 1988. M etal Speciation
Eq uilibrium Mod el fo r Surface and Groundwater (M INTEQ ). Ath ens , Georgia, U.S.A. Van Benschoten, J .E. and Edzwald, J.K. (1990). M easuring aluminium during water treatm ent : methodology and application. AWWA. May: 71. Yagi, M. ; Mizukawa , K. ; Kajino, M. ; Tatumi , S. ; Akiyama , M. and Ando, M. (1992). Behaviour of aluminium in water purification process at purifi cation plants in the RiverYodo system . Water Supply 10 (4): 65 . WHO (1993) . Guidelines for drinking water quali ty, Vol. 1, R ecommendations. World H ealth
Authors Dr Bruce Coller is Senior Lecturer specialising in trace metals andlysis in the Department of Chemistry, Mon.a sh Univers ity, C layton Victoria 3168. Dr Jlanplng Lin ga ined his PhD at Mon.ash, then completed a postdoctoral year at the Univers ity of Wyoming. H e specialises in trace analysis of environmental waters. WATER MAY/ JUNE 1997
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