Effect of Nanocoagulants on Reducing Microbial Contamination in Drinking Water (A Case Study)

A growing interest has been recently shown to the application of modern technologies, especially nanotechnologies, as a management approach to alleviating the adverse effects of environmental pollutants. One area that may most benefit from these new technologies is the water resources management. The present study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of nanocoagulants in reducing the microbial load of drinking water. For the purposes of this study, the drinking water supply of the City of Ilam was chosen for a case study and its parameters of biological oxygen demand (BOD), total hardness (TH), and fecal coliforms were determined. It was found that application of nanocoagulants at temperatures as high as 40 oC, over a detention time of more than one hour, and at pH = 6 yielded the highest efficiency in removing the microbial load and BOD5, but it had no effect on TH removal. Based on the results obtained, it may be claimed that nanocoagulants may serve as a good alternative to common coagulants and disinfectants in treating drinking water while they can also improve and optimize water treatment processes.