Prediction of full scale plant performance from pilot columns.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Water Treatment

Background:

• Pilot-scale studies are crucial for designing full-scale water treatment systems.
• Previous comparisons of pilot and full-scale systems focused on single parameters.
• Limited data exists for comparing pilot and full-scale performance with multiple organic contaminants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a database for comparing pilot and full-scale systems treating various organic compounds.
• To investigate the relationship between empty bed contact time and organic removal efficiency.
• To assess the reliability of pilot data for predicting full-scale system performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized pilot and full-scale systems to evaluate the removal of diverse organic substances.
• Employed a series pilot contactor system to study the effect of empty bed contact time.
• Developed a statistical interpretation method for pilot column results.

Main Results:

• Pilot systems exhibited longer average contact times than full-scale systems.
• No uniform pattern of longer service time was observed for different substances across scales.
• Increased contact time generally improved effluent quality in the series pilot system.

Conclusions:

• Pilot-to-full-scale comparisons for multiple organics require further investigation and refinement.
• A series pilot system is essential for collecting and interpreting design data.
• Accurate prediction of full-scale performance from pilot data necessitates careful control of parameters and further validation.