Removal of manganese from water using crushed dolomite filtration technique

This paper discusses manganese removal from water by filtration through low cost coarse media. A laboratory scale filtration technique was used to remove manganese from manganese bearing water to prove previous batch studies which showed that the removal of manganese was better in the case of limestone particle as compared to the gravel, crushed brick or with no media addition, and the conclusion made that removal mechanisms were due to the effect of rough solid surfaces and the presence of carbonate in the limestone particle. Filtration results indicated that at an input pH of 7 with manganese concentration of 1 Mn/l, a good removal was observed in the limestone media as compared to the gravel media, which validates the batch results. Results also show that water hardness did not significantly increase in this filtration technique. Studies on the effect of different parameters on the removal performance of manganese has shown that a smaller particle size, a greater filter depth, and a lower flow rate gave advantages in the removal efficiency.