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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

A Small Volume Procedure for Viral Concentration from Water
Published on: February 3, 2015
Removal of adenovirus, calicivirus, and bacteriophages by conventional drinking water treatment
Morteza Abbaszadegan1, Patricia Monteiro, Nena Nwachuku
1National Science Foundation Water Quality Center, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5306, USA. abbaszadegan@asu.edu
Abstract:
This study was conducted to evaluate the removal of adenovirus, feline calicivirus (FCV), and bacteriophages MS-2, fr, PRD-1, and Phi X-174 during conventional drinking water treatment using ferric chloride as a coagulant. Adenovirus and FCV were removed to a greater extent than PRD-1 and Phi X-174, indicating that these bacteriophages may be appropriate surrogates for both adenovirus and FCV. Of the four bacteriophages studied in the pilot plant, MS-2 was removed to the greatest extent (5.1 log), followed by fr (4.9 log), PRD-1 (3.5 log), and Phi X-174 (1.3 log). The virus removal trend in the pilot-scale testing was similar to the bench-scale testing; however, the bench-scale testing seemed to provide a conservative estimate of the pilot plant performance. In the pilot-scale testing, MS-2 and fr were removed with the greatest efficiency during filtration, whereas PRD-1 and Phi X-174 showed the greatest removal during sedimentation.
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