Soluble manganese removal by porous media filtration.

Filtration experiments were conducted to investigate soluble manganese removal in granular media filtration; sand, manganese oxide coated sand (MOCS), sand + MOCS (1:1) and granular activated carbon (GAC) were used as filter media. Manganese removal, manganese oxide accumulation, turbidity removal, and regeneration of MOCS under various conditions were examined. Soluble manganese removal by the MOCS column was rapid and efficient; most of the removal happened at the top (e.g. 5 cm) of the filter. When filter influent with an average manganese concentration of 0.204 mg l(-1) was fed through the filter columns, the sand + MOCS and MOCS columns removed 98.9% and 99.2% of manganese, respectively. However, manganese removal in sand and the GAC columns was not significant during the initial stage of filtration, but after eight months of filter run they could remove 99% and 35% of manganese, respectively. It was revealed that partial replacement of sand with MOCS showed comparable manganese removal to that of the MOCS filter media.