Occurrence of manganese in water supplies causes colored water and pipe rusting in water
treatment and distribution systems. Moreover, consumption of manganese-contaminated water
may lead to neurotoxicity in humans. Biofilters have the potential to alleviate the manganese issue
through bio-oxidation, particle separation, and adsorption processes. Biofiltration performance can
be enhanced by augmentation of the manganese-oxidizing bacterium entrapped in polymeric
materials. This study aimed to investigate the potential of barium alginate-entrapped cells
supplemented with powdered activated carbon (PAC) for manganese removal. Streptomyces
violarus strain SBP1, an effective manganese-oxidizing bacterium, was selected. The experiments
were divided into 2 parts, including 1) characterization of barium alginate bead and 2) manganese
removal testing. Effect of PAC content (1, 5, and 10% w/v) in the entrapment material on bead
morphology, bead durability, and settling velocity (relative to a filtration medium) was investigated.Etc...