Water treatment funnel is a hierarchy of testing and analysis, narrowing down from general to specific, with increasing confidence and cost as you move downward. We offer the tests in the funnel individually or together based on clients’ needs. See our case Studies
Description of the purpose, methods and scope of the tests in each stage
1. Total Water Quality Analysis
• Purpose: Measure water quality e.g. pH, turbidity, TOC, metals, organics, PFAS etc.
• Scope and Benefits: Identifies short-chain vs. long-chain PFAS; Determines background organics that may interfere with treatment; Informs selection of appropriate treatment technologies. Avoids misdiagnosis of treatment options. Anchors every downstream decision.
2. Adsorbent Screening
• Purpose: Screen treatment options quickly.
• Methods: Jar tests, adsorption isotherms, chemical dosing trials.
• Scope and Benefits: Tests to see how fast and how much PFAS is removed. Validates vendor’s data to meet MCL in site specific water, helps eliminate poor candidates before more expensive column tests Small-scale tests to evaluate feasibility. Lower costs for early selection of promising candidates.
3. RSSCT (Rapid Small-Scale Column Test)
• Purpose: Mimic full-scale system, bridging the gap between lab and field.
• Method: Scaled-down column tests using granular media.
• Scope and Benefits: Predict breakthrough curves and media lifespan and calculate Empty Bed Contact Times (EBCT). This step benefits in saving time and money by allowing data-driven selection of promising adsorbents for the more expensive larger scale trails using field-scale pilot testing. RSSCT is also faster than pilot scale testing.
4. Pilot Scale Testing
• Purpose: Validate treatment performance under real-world conditions.
• Methods: Feed water for longer periods under the same hydrostatic pressure and flow rates of water on site
• Scope and Benefits: Pilot scale testing captures seasonal variation in water quality, fouling potential, and long-term performance. Generates regulatory-grade data. Builds stakeholder and operator confidence and identifies operational constraints early
5. Modeling
• Purpose: Predict commercial system behavior and optimize design.
• Methods: Computational models (e.g., EPA AdesignS).
• Scope and Benefits: Integrates data from all previous stages to guide full-scale implementation. Turn data into decisions with predictive simulations that save time and money. Estimates media replacement schedules, how different media types perform under various flow rates, bed depths, model different configurations, e.g., series vs. parallel columns, to find the most cost-effective system.