A comparison study of the start-up of a MnOx filter for catalytic oxidative removal of ammonium from groundwater and surface water.

As an efficient method for ammonium (NH4+) removal, contact catalytic oxidation technology has drawn much attention recently, due to its good low temperature resistance and short start-up period. Two identical filters were employed to compare the process for ammonium removal during the start-up period for ammonium removal in groundwater (Filter-N) and surface water (Filter-S) treatment. Two types of source water (groundwater and surface water) were used as the feed waters for the filtration trials. Although the same initiating method was used, Filter-N exhibited much better ammonium removal performance than Filter-S. The differences in catalytic activity among these two filters were probed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and compositional analysis. XRD results indicated that different manganese oxide species were formed in Filter-N and Filter-S. Furthermore, the Mn3p XPS spectra taken on the surface of the filter films revealed that the average manganese valence of the inactive manganese oxide film collected from Filter-S (FS-MnOx) was higher than in the film collected from Filter-N (FN-MnOx). Mn(IV) was identified as the predominant oxidation state in FS-MnOx and Mn(III) was identified as the predominant oxidation state in FN-MnOx. The results of compositional analyses suggested that polyaluminum ferric chloride (PAFC) used during the surface water treatment was an important factor in the mineralogy and reactivity of MnOx. This study provides the theoretical basis for promoting the wide application of the technology and has great practical significance.