Adsorptive Removal of Manganese,Arsenic and Iron from Groundwater UNESCO-IHE PhD Thesis

Arsenic, manganese and iron in drinking water at concentrations exceeding recommended guideline values pose health risks and aesthetic defects. Batch and pilot experiments on manganese adsorption equilibrium and kinetics using iron-oxide coated sand (IOCS), Aquamandix and other media have been investigated and modeled. Effect of manganese and iron loading on manganese removal and rate of oxidation of adsorbed iron and manganese have been studied.

Aquamandix and IOCS demonstrated iron and manganese adsorption capacity that increases with increasing pH under oxic and anoxic conditions. Manganese loading and low filtration rate using feedwater with no nitrite favour non-uniform development of catalytic manganese oxide on media that subsequently enhances manganese removal.

1. Introduction; 2. Presence of Manganese, Iron and Arsenic in Groundwater; 3. Adsorptive Removal of Manganese (II) from the Aqueous Phase using Iron Oxide Coated Sand; 4. Manganese Adsorption Characteristics; 5. Manganese Removal from Groundwater; 6. Optimising the Removal of Manganese; 7. Oxidation of Adsorbed Ferrous and Manganese Ions; 8. Summary and Conclusions.

Richard Buamah (1966) is born in Ghana. He completed Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 1990. Five years later he completed his Master of philosophy degree programme in Biochemistry at KNUST. In 2000 he joined the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (the Urban Water and Infracture department) to pursue a number of graduate courses in Water Treatment followed by a PhD programme under sandwich construction.
He has twelve publications to his credit and has presented papers and posters at several peer reviewed conferences including the Biennial World Water Congress of the IWA (2008, Vienna, Austria), the Leading Edge Technology Conference of the IWA (2008 Zurich, Switzerland) and UCOWR/NIWR conference, (2009, Durham, North Carolina – USA).