Nitrate contamination of drinking water supplies is a recognized problem in certain locations of the U.S. Several technologies are capable of removing nitrate. Two promising related technologies are the direct biological denitrification of drinking water and the removal of nitrate by ion exchange with the subsequent removal of the nitrate from the regenerant brine.Denitrification of drinking water and brines requires the addition of an electron donor, which can either be organic compounds or hydrogen gas. The use of hydrogen offers several operational and economic advantages over the use of organic compounds. The factor limiting hydrogen use is its low solubility, i.e., existing gas-dissolution technologies cannot dissolve high concentrations of hydrogen in a cost effective manner. Membran Corporation's patented membrane gas-dissolution technology provides a cost-effective means for dissolving the hydrogen required for denitrification.The proposed study examines the technical feasibility of a Membran gas-dissolution device as the hydrogen source for the biological denitrification of drinking water and simulated regeneration brines.
