Glossary of Terms
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
A
- adsorbent- material which can adsorb a chemical or contaminant out of solution (Hoehn, 1996).
- aesthetic- meaning pleasing to the senses; in this case not a regulated or enforced guide in water treatment (Hoehn, 1996).
- anaerobic- respiration process using a compound other than oxygen as the hydrogen acceptor (Reynolds & Richards, 1996).
B
- biological layer- microorganisms grow on carbon granules forming a slime called a biofilm (Clark, 1989).
- break point- point at which adsorbent no longer meets required removal efficiencies in the effluent (Clark, 1989).
C
- carcinogenic- cancer causing substance or material (Webster, 1984).
D
- dehydration- to remove the water from a substance or material (Webster, 1984).
- disinfection-by-product- chemicals formed by the reaction of organics to chlorine or other disinfectants (Hoehn, 1996).
L
- lignite- a soft brownish black coal with the texture of the original wood it came from (Webster, 1984).
O
- organics- chemical compounds containing carbon (Brown, 1997).
- ozonation- using ozone as the oxidant for disinfection in water treatment (Reynolds & Richards, 1996).
P
- peat- partially decayed plant material, precursor of coal (Webster, 1984).
T
- trihalomethanes- a particular disinfection-by-product (Hoehn, 1996).
V
- van der waals forces- a weak attractive force between atoms or nonpolar molecules (Hoehn, 1996).
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Send comments or suggestions to: Steve Kvech,
skvech@vt.edu
Erika Tull,
etull@vt.edu