Benoit Barbeau

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• ing., PhD
• Professor (Full) at Polytechnique Montréal

The objective of the present study was to investigate the temporal trends of 46 pesticides and 8 transformation products (TPs) in the surface water of Québec and assess their associated health risks posed through drinking water consumption. Surface and drinking water were sampled twice per week at a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) from 2021 t...

Since the acceptable PFAS levels in drinking water vary among regulatory agencies, drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) are urged to adapt their processes to improve their removal. This study’s objective was to assess the performance of powdered and granular activated carbon (PAC and GAC) for PFAS removal and evaluate their applications in DWTPs...

Granular activated carbon (GAC) is a promising approach for removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water. However, GAC filters usually suffer early PFAS breakthroughs due to the competition between PFAS and natural organic matter (NOM) during sorption. The present study investigated the possibility of using ozonation to e...

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the performance of popular pitcher-type point-of-use (POU) water filters to remove PFAS contaminants from tap waters. The evaluated filters, Brita (Elite and Standard), ZeroWater, Aquagear, and ClearlyFiltered, were tested for their efficacy in removing 75 targeted PFAS, total organic carbon (TOC),...

The jar test is the current standard method for predicting the performance of a conventional drinking water treatment (DWT) process and optimizing the coagulant dose. This test is time-consuming and requires human intervention, meaning it is infeasible for making continuous process predictions. As a potential alternative, we developed a machine lea...

Quantifying manganese (Mn) content in solids is critical for understanding its roles in aquatic ecosystems, soils, water treatment plants and distribution systems. No studies have yet used standard Mn oxides to compare the performance of the numerous digestion methods found in the literature. Nine digestion methods (including USEPA 3050B) were comp...

In this study, the hybrid biological ion exchange (BIEX) resin and gravity-driven membrane (GDM) process was employed for the treatment of coloured and turbid river water. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of both physical and chemical cleaning methods on ceramic and polymeric membranes in terms of their stabilised flux, flux reco...

The use of UV light to prevent or mitigate the development of biofilms is an area of emerging research that spans numerous industries. We reviewed 58 papers published between 1998...

In this study, the hybrid biological ion exchange (BIEX) resin and gravity-driven membrane (GDM) process was employed for the treatment of coloured and turbid river water. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of both physical and chemical cleaning methods on ceramic and polymeric membranes in terms of stabilised flux, flux recovery a...

Black textile filaments having good mechanical strength and low water absorbency were spun from carboxymethylated cellulose cross-linked with amine functionalized carboxylated carbon nanotubes (afc-CNT). Incorporating 1 wt.% afc-CNT by crosslinking resulted in filaments with increased mechanical strength (tenacity ~ 1.2 cN/dtex) and a lower water a...

The transport of viruses in groundwater is a complex process controlled by both hydrodynamic and reaction parameters. Characterizing the transport of viruses in groundwater is of crucial importance for investigating health risks associated with groundwater consumption from private individual or residential pumping wells. Setback distances between s...

Predicting free chlorine residual and Trihalomethanes (THMs) in water distribution systems (DS) is challenging, given the variability and imprecise description of the chlorination conditions prevailing in full-scale systems. In this work, we used the variable reaction rate constant (VRRC) model, which offers the advantage of describing variable app...

With growing environmental consciousness, biomaterials (BMs) have garnered attention as sustainable materials for the adsorption of hazardous water contaminants. These BMs are engineered using surface treatments or physical alterations to enhance their adsorptive properties. The lab-scale methods generally employ a One Variable at a Time (OVAT) app...

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of MgO on the long-term operation of a mixed media contactor. Specifically, the simultaneous removal of aqueous manganese and the remineralization of soft waters using pure calcite are limited by a remineralization breakthrough after 600 h of operation in the presence of high Mn concentrations (5 mg...

This study investigated the feasibility of using segmented regeneration for ion exchange (IX) resins used for natural organic matter (NOM) removal. For the first part of the study, regeneration batch tests were conducted for resins solely loaded with sulfate (i.e. ResinSulfate) or NOM (i.e. ResinNOM). We found that ResinSulfate can be fully regener...

MXenes are a new type of two-dimensional (2D) inorganic compound which offer high surface area, superlative chemical stability, thermal conductivity, hydrophilicity and environmental compatibility in comparison to traditional 2D ceramics. Consequently, MXenes have been employed for a range of environmental, chemical and medical applications like ai...

Zwitterionic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are increasingly detected in aquatic environments. The magnitude of their concentration and increased frequency of detection worldwide raise questions on their presence in drinking water and associated health risk. Scientific knowledge on the identification of treatment technologies to effectively ca...

Control of membrane fouling is critical for the long term production of water in a membrane system. Backwashing with or without relaxation is the most common method to control fouling in-situ with ultrafiltration (UF) hollow fiber membrane systems. The inclusion of relaxation is intended to assist with decompression of the membrane cake layers and...

The post-treatment of soft and desalinated waters is an integral step in the production of quality drinking water. Remineralization is therefore often essential in order to stabilize the effluent for distribution and to attain mineral levels that fulfill aesthetic and health goals. According to the World Health Organization, magnesium (Mg²⁺) is a n...

Biofiltration is a widely used process in drinking water treatment plants to remove natural organic matter (NOM). A novel biofiltration process using ion exchange resins as supporting media (i.e., biological ion exchange or BIEX) has been demonstrated to provide a superior performance compared to conventional biological activated carbon (BAC). In o...

Biological ion exchange (BIEX) refers to operating ion exchange (IX) filters with infrequent regeneration to favor the microbial growth on resin surface and thereby contribute to the removal of organic matter through biodegradation. However, the extent of biodegradation on BIEX resins is still debatable due to the difficulty in discriminating betwe...

Recurring plans for building a large crude oil pipeline in the immediate neighborhood of the Saint Lawrence River and connected watercourses raise concerns about potential threats to this drinking water...

Reactive membranes (RMs) have attracted worldwide attention for wastewater purification and treatment due to their unique characteristics. In this study, through manipulating the band gap of graphene oxide (GO), a photo-Fenton GO membrane with enlarged inner channels, great selectivity and permeability as well as excellent self-cleaning ability was...

Surfaces can be contaminated by droplets produced through coughing or sneezing. In this exploratory work, the UV disinfection results of Bacillus subtilis spores in dried saliva droplets were fitted to a three-parameter kinetic model (R² ≥ 0.97). This model has a disinfection rate constant for single organisms and a smaller one for aggregates found...

Subsequent to an oil spill in surface water, impacts of dispersant application on water treatability and residual contamination in distributed potable water remain largely unknown. The desired outcome of dispersant application is attributable to both nonionic and anionic surfactants which reduce interfacial tension. This study evaluated the contrib...

Ion exchange (IX) using synthetic resins is a cost-efficient technology to cope with a wide range of contaminants in water treatment. However, implementing IX processes is constrained by the regeneration of IX resins that generates a highly concentrated brine (i.e., IX brine), the disposal of which is costly and detrimental to ecosystems. In an eff...

Physical remediation such as the use of booms has been applied for most oil-spill cleanup activities in surface water. The application of dispersants has been controversial primarily due to the unknown impacts on drinking water sources. This study investigated changes in surface water quality following dispersant application to crude oil spills and...

MXenes are a new type of two-dimensional (2D) material which are rapidly gaining traction for a range of environmental, chemical and medical applications. MXenes and MXene-composites exhibit high surface area, superlative chemical stability, thermal conductivity, hydrophilicity and are environmentally compatible. Consequently, MXenes have been succ...

Membrane fouling is an ongoing challenge in the membrane filtration process. Herein, a photocatalytic membrane comprising a reactive layer was fabricated by engineering partially reduced graphene oxide/Ag nanoparticles/MIL-88A (prGO/Ag/M88A, pGAM) photocatalysts on the PVDF substrate membranes. Benefiting from the high conductivity of prGO and the...

Surfaces can be contaminated by droplets produced coughing or sneezing. In this short, exploratory work, UV disinfection data from B. subtilis spores in dried saliva droplets were fitted to a first-order model. The model has a disinfection rate constant for single organisms, and a smaller one for aggregates (R ² ≥ 0.97). Changes in the fraction of...

The study presented a Monte Carlo simulation of light transport in 8 commonly used filtered facepiece respirators (FFRs) to assess the efficacy of UV at 254 nm for the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2. The results showed different fluence rates across the thickness of the 8 different FFRs, implying that some FFR models may be more treatable than others,...

Despite the tremendous success of the application of anion exchange resins (IX) in natural organic matter (NOM) removal over conventional removal methods, the considerable amount of brine spent during its regeneration cycle makes its sustainability questionable. This polluting saline stream can be challenging to manage and costly to discharge. Alte...

Worldwide shortages of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 pandemic has forced the implementation of methods for decontaminating face piece respirators such as N95 respirators. The use of UV irradiation to reduce bioburden of used respirators attracts attention, making proper testing protocols of uttermost importance. Currently artificial...

Biological ion exchange (BIEX) offers removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) with greatly reduced regeneration frequency. In the present work, a strong base anionic exchange resin was operated without regeneration and using inlet water with either Low (12 mg L⁻¹) or High (60 mg L⁻¹) sulphate and DOC of 2.75 or 5.0 mg L⁻¹. Filters operated contin...

Drinking water producers continuously develop innovative treatment processes to effectively remove organic micropollutants from raw water. Biological ion-exchange (BIEX) water treatment is one of these new techniques under development and showing great potential. In order to investigate if biodegradation is highly involved in such a removal techniq...

1. The COVID-19 situation has raised the interest in the use of UV for prevention of respiratory system pathogens 2. The use of UV for disinfection is highly dependent on the optical properties of the matrix around the pathogens in question 3. Respiratory pathogens (SARS-CoV-2 included) are transmitted mostly through mucosa droplets that are produc...

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a large family of anthropogenic organic compounds with a wide range of industrial and commercial applications. PFAS have become a global concern due to their toxicity and bio-accumulative properties. PFAS species have been ubiquitously detected in natural waters, wastewaters, sludge, and aquatic...

UV based advanced oxidation process exhibits promising potentials for the degradation of toxic cyanobacterial toxins from natural waters. However, degradation is hindered by the presence of natural organic matter (NOM), which absorbs both 185 nm and 254 nm photons and scavenges hydroxyl radical (•OH), affecting mechanisms of UV/ vacuum UV (VUV) deg...

Subsequent to an oil spill, conventional physico-chemical treatment processes such as ballasted flocculation would serve as the principal barrier in drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) against contamination from toxic soluble contaminants such as benzene. Benzene is a well-known carcinogenic compound and its maximum threshold concentrations in d...

The manuscript reports on the applicability of the homogenous surface diffusion model (HSDM) for predicting the removal of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water treatment systems using ion exchange resins.

As some water utilities are facing increasing concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM) in source water, it has been observed that some of this organic content is refractory to conventional coagulation treatment with alum and ferric sulfate. However, prehydrolyzed coagulants containing polymeric and/or cationic aluminum species such as Al2, Al...

Key Takeaways While researchers have been proposing magnetic powdered activated carbon (MPAC) for more than a decade, these materials are not yet commercially available in North America (though they are in Japan). MPAC combines two important characteristics: efficient separation from water using a magnetic field and good adsorption properties for o...

Treatment technologies such as ion exchange (IX) process exhibit promising potentials for the removal of toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from natural waters. In recent years, industries have started manufacturing PFAS-specific resins which are typically operated in a single use-and-dispose mode until exhaustion. However, this incr...

Membrane fouling in surface waters impacted by cyanobacteria is currently poorly controlled and results in high operating costs. A chemically enhanced backwash (CEB) is one possible strategy to mitigate cyanobacteria fouling. This research investigates the potential of using an ozone CEB to control the fouling caused by Microcystis aeruginosa in fi...

Ion exchange (IX) process is increasingly used as a cost-effective treatment for the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) from drinking water. However, fundamental studies under the influence of variable NOM characteristics and inorganic anions have often been overlooked. This is important given NOM characteristics (such as charge density and mo...

Bank filtration is a popular pre-treatment method to produce drinking water as it benefits from the natural capacity of the sediments to attenuate contaminants. Under flood conditions, bank filtration systems are known to be vulnerable to contamination, partly because flow patterns may evolve at short timescales and result in a rapid evolution of t...

We present the first study investigating optimized regeneration strategies for anionic ion exchange (IX) resins during the removal of persistent per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, including GenX) from surface and treated wastewater effluents. IX regeneration studies are of critical importance from environmental perspectives. Specifically,...

A small community in British Columbia, Canada, needed a water treatment process that required minimal maintenance but could handle the community's unique challenges. In the end, a university collaboration led to an effective biological ion exchange system.

Carcinogenic GenX chemicals, heptafluoropropylene-oxide-dimer-acid (HFPO-DA), have been recently detected in surface, ground and recycled water sources worldwide. However, GenX removals under the influence of variable characteristics of the organic and inorganic compounds present in the natural water sources, have often been overlooked in scientifi...

Cyanobacterial blooms are a growing concern around the world. A feasible approach for small treatment plants fed by sources contaminated with cyanobacteria is Vacuum UV (VUV). VUV is a promising advanced oxidation process used to treat water impacted by cyanobacterial blooms, with potential applicability in small and remote communities because of i...

Flocculation and settling performance (kinetic, robustness, upflow velocity, and overall solids removal) have been significantly improved over the past forty years due to the development of very high molecular weight polymers. Intrinsic flocculant characteristics such as the molecular weight, charge density, and spatial molecular configuration are...

Biological ion exchange (BIEX) has proved to remove natural organic matter (NOM) better than biological activated carbon (BAC). This raises the question if BIEX can be integrated into a full-scale drinking water treatment plant to remove NOM and ammonia. In this study, a pilot plant consisting of one BIEX filter, three GAC filters and one BAC filte...

At many bank filtration (BF) sites, mixing ratios between the contributing sources of water are typically regarded as values with no temporal variation, even though hydraulic conditions and pumping regimes can be transient. This study illustrates how anthropic and meteorological forcings influence the origin of the water of a BF system that interac...

Biological Ion Exchange (BIEX) is more efficient for NOM removal than conventional Biological Activated Carbon (BAC). Preliminary results indicate that unlike BAC, the NOM removal mechanism in BIEX is not predominantly biodegradation. Ion exchange is responsible for NOM removal even when the capacity of the resin is exhausted. Natural Organic Matte...

The increasing frequency with which cyanobacterial blooms are affecting sources of drinking water is a growing concern worldwide. Such events are usually responsible for the presence of cyanotoxins as well as taste and odor (T&O) compounds. Vacuum UV (VUV) is a promising advanced oxidation process used to treat water impacted by cyanobacterial bloo...

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are drinking water contaminants of emerging concern due to their persistence in the environment and tendency to bio-accumulate. Although anionic ion exchange (IX) resins offer a cost-effective alternative for removing PFAS from natural waters, the studies on PFAS removal by IX under the influence of variable charact...

Groundwater (GW) is one of the main potable water sources worldwide. However, the presence of undesirable compounds and particularly manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) (mainly co-existing in GWs) are considered as objectionable components of potable water for both health and aesthetic issues. As such, individual dwellings supplied by domestic wells are e...

Increasing presence of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in water sources and their adverse health effects on aquatic life are major concerns for water utilities and authorities worldwide. The oxidation kinetics for degradation of ozone resistant steroid hormones were investigated to quantify their removal in natural water under varying water t...

Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is the most commonly encountered toxic microcystin variant. MCLR is usually present along with common surface water constituents such as inorganic ions and natural organic matter (NOM) which compete with MCLR for active sites during ion exchange (IX) process. Consequently, development of a multicomponent competitive model is e...

Natural organic matter (NOM) is removed from potable water for aesthetic, operational and indirect health concerns. NOM removal via ion exchange (IX) resins is receiving increasing attention owing to its simple operation. However, production of a spent brine during IX regeneration is the main drawback due to strict discharge regulations and limited...

The aim of this study was to investigate the negative impact of a newly-formed manganese (Mn)-layer on calcite dissolution in the long-term operation of a calcite contactor. Simultaneous removal of Mn and remineralization of soft water in an up-flow calcite contactor was conducted and led to a progressive loading of Mn into the calcite matrix. The...

The aim of this study was to investigate the negative impact of a newly-formed manganese (Mn)-layer on calcite dissolution in the long-term operation of a calcite contactor. Simultaneous removal of Mn and remineralization of soft water in an up-flow calcite contactor was conducted and led to a progressive loading of Mn into the calcite matrix. The...

Background: Manganese is an essential nutrient, but in excess, can be a potent neurotoxicant. We previously reported findings from two cross-sectional studies on children, showing that higher concentrations of manganese in drinking water were associated with deficits in IQ scores. Despite the common occurrence of this neurotoxic metal, its concent...

Drinking water treatment plants throughout the world are increasingly facing the presence of toxic cyanobacteria in their source waters. During treatment, the oxidation of cyanobacteria changes cell morphology and can potentially lyse cells, releasing intracellular metabolites. In this study, a combination of techniques was applied to better unders...

This study investigates chemical cleaning mechanisms of a tubular ceramic UF membrane. The effect of cleaner type (ozone (O 3 ), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH)), clean in place (CIP) pH (11 vs. 12), and cleaning sequence on the removal of irreversible fouling of hydrophobic (humic acids) and hydrophilic (alginate with and w...

A novel pyrolusite fluidized bed (PFB) contactor, which we recently developed for dissolved manganese (Mn(II)) removal through surface adsorption and subsequent oxidation by free chlorine, was modeled in this study. The hydrodynamic behavior of the filter media and water in the fluidized bed was described by the axial dispersion model. The model in...

Synthetic polymers, mostly polyacrylamides (PAMs), are frequently used in the water industry to improve the performance of clarification. However, synthetic polymers may increase headloss in granular media filters, biodegrade slowly, and are potentially toxic. Alternatively, bio-sourced starch-based polymers may eliminate the drawbacks of synthetic...

Science of The Total Environment

Groundwater (GW) is one of the most abundant water resources and around 1.5 billion people rely on GW as their main water supply. Manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) are very common GW contaminants. Even though their presence is considered mainly as an organoleptic and operational nuisance, water with elevated Mn content may also lead to adverse health im...

The present paper describes a laboratory investigation conducted with the main aim to compare two colorimetric methods (1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) from HACH® and porphyrin ligand (T-(4CP)P)) with ICP analyses for the evaluation of low concentrations of manganese in water. The colorimetric porphyrin method was found to provide reliable result...

Cyanobacterial blooms are becoming a serious challenge across the globe due to changing climate and rainfall patterns as a consequence of human activities. In the present study, the fundamental interactions involved during the removal of Microcystin-LR (MCLR), one of the most commonly occurring cyanobacterial toxins, were investigated by employing...

Conventional clarification processes imply specific facility footprints that translate into important capital costs. Ballasted flocculation, consisting of injecting ballast medium to increase floc specific gravity and size, is being increasingly used in the water industry owing to its potential for design with very high superficial velocities. Howe...

Anionic exchange is an effective treatment option for the removal of natural organic matter from surface waters. However, the management of the spent brine regenerant often limits the adoption of this process. The current study reports one year of operation of ion exchange resins under biological mode (BIEX, i.e. without regeneration to promote bio...

This research examines the effect of various NOM fractions on ceramic and polymeric UF membranes performance in terms of fouling and cleaning. Fouling experiments were performed using five model solutions, humic acid, protein as bovine serum albumin (BSA), alginate with and without calcium, and a combined NOM mixture. Two chemical agents were selec...

This study evaluated the adsorption capacity and rate constants for 9 micropollutants (MP) on fresh and aged magnetic powdered activated carbon (MPAC) as a magnetically separable alternative to conventional PAC for drinking water treatment. MPAC with mass fractions of 10%, 38% and 54% maghemite nanoparticles were compared to bare PAC and pure maghe...

Microcystins are the most commonly occurring cyanotoxins, and have been extensively studied across the globe. In the present study, a strongly basic anion exchange resin was employed to investigate the removal of Microcystin-LR (MCLR), one of the most toxic microcystin variants. Factors influencing the uptake behavior included the MCLR and resin co...

The present study investigated the impact of different loading approaches and microbial activity on the Natural Organic Matter (NOM) removal efficiency and capacity of ion exchange resins. Gaining further knowledge on the impact of loading approaches is of relevance because laboratory-scale multiple loading tests (MLTs) have been introduced as a si...

This study investigated the efficiency of a strongly basic macroporous anion exchange resin for the co-removal of Microcystin-LR (MCLR) and natural organic matter (NOM) in waters affected by toxic algal blooms. Environmental factors influencing the uptake behavior included MCLR and resin concentrations, NOM and anionic species, specifically nitrate...