Enhanced formation of trichloronitromethane precursors during UV/monochloramine treatment

Formation and toxicity alteration of halonitromethanes from Chlorella vulgaris during UV/chloramination process involving bromide ion

Frequent algal blooms cause algal cells and their algal organic matter (AOM) to become critical precursors of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during water treatment. The presence of bromide ion (Br-) in water has been demonstrated to affect the formation laws and species distribution of DBPs. However, few researchers have addressed the formation and toxicity alteration of halonitromethanes (HNMs) from algae during disinfection in the presence of Br-. Therefore, in this work, Chlorella vulgaris was selected as a representative algal precursor to investigate the formation and toxicity alteration of HNMs during UV/chloramination involving Br-. The results showed that the formation concentration of HNMs increased and then decreased during UV/chloramination. The intracellular organic matter of Chlorella vulgaris was more susceptible to form HNMs than the extracellular organic matter. When the Br-: Cl2 mass ratio was raised from 0.004 to 0.08, the peak of HNMs total concentration increased 33.99%, and the cytotoxicity index and genotoxicity index of HNMs increased 67.94% and 22.80%. Besides, the formation concentration and toxicity of HNMs increased with increasing Chlorella vulgaris concentration but decreased with increasing solution pH. Possible formation pathways of HNMs from Chlorella vulgaris during UV/chloramination involving Br- were proposed based on the alteration of nitrogen species and fluorescence spectrum analysis. Furthermore, the formation laws of HNMs from Chlorella vulgaris in real water samples were similar to those in deionized water samples. This study contributes to a better comprehension of HNMs formation from Chlorella vulgaris and provides valuable information for water managers to reduce hazards associated with the formation of HNMs.

Disinfection by-products control in wastewater effluents treated with ozone and biological activated carbon followed by UV/Chlor(am)ine processes

Sequential utilization of ozone (O3) and biological activated carbon (BAC) followed by UV/chlor(am)ine advanced oxidation process (AOP) has drawn attention in water reuse. However, the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in this process is less evaluated. This study investigated the DBP formation and the relevant toxicity during the O3-BAC-UV/chlor(am)ine treatment of sand-filtered municipal secondary effluent. DBP formation in UV/chlorine and UV/dichloramine (NHCl2) processes were compared, where the impact of key operational parameters (e.g., UV wavelength, pH) on DBP formation were comprehensively evaluated. O3-BAC significantly reduced DBP formation potential (DBPFP) (58.2 %). Compared to UV/chlorine AOP, UV/NHCl2 AOP reduced DBP formation by 29.7 % in short-time treatment, while insignificantly impacting on DBPFP (p > 0.05). UV/NHCl2 AOP also led to lower calculated cytotoxicity (67.7 %) and genotoxicity (55.9 %) of DBPs compared to UV/chlorine AOP. Compared to 254 nm UV light, the utilization of 285 nm UV light decreased the formation of DBPs in wastewater treated with the UV/chlorine AOP and UV/NHCl2 AOP by 31.3 % and 19.2 %, respectively. However, the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in UV/NHCl2 AOP using 285 nm UV light increased by 83.4 % and 58.5 %, respectively, compared to 254 nm. The concentration of DBPs formed in the UV/NHCl2 AOP at pH 8 was 54.3 % lower than that at pH 7, suggesting a better control of DBPs at alkaline condition. In the presence of bromide, UV/NHCl2 AOP tended to generate more brominated DBPs than UV/chlorine AOP. Overall, UV/NHCl2 AOP resulted in lower concentration and toxicity of DBPs compared to UV/chlorine AOP.

Enhanced trichloronitromethane formation during chlorine-UV treatment of nitrite-containing water by organic amines

This study explored the risk of trichloronitromethane (TCNM) formation during chlorination of the nitrite-containing water after pre-chlorination and subsequent UV irradiation (i.e., the chlorine-UV process). The competitive reaction between amino acid (AA) and NO₂^- for chlorine produced organic chloramine and reduced the oxidation from NO₂^- to NO₃^-, resulting in a significant enhancement of TCNM in the presence of AA (>5.52 μg L^-1) as compared to the absence of AA (0.42 μg L^-1). The generation of HO^• during UV photolysis of organic chloramines was confirmed. Among the process parameters, pre-chlorination time (from 5 min to 30 min) had no significant effect on TCNM formation; the highest TCNM formation occurred at pH 7 (from pH 6 to pH 8); prolonged UV irradiation time (from 5 min to 30 min) and increased chlorine to AA ratio (Cl₂:AA) (from 1 to 3) decreased the TCNM formation. The hydroxylated, chlorinated and nitrosated products were detected. The quantum chemical calculation results indicated the attack of NO₂^• was more likely to occur at the meta and para positions of benzoic acid (BZA), because of the steric hindrance of the carboxylic group in BZA to the ortho position. Based on the results of the toxicity assessment, pre-chlorination with a higher chlorine dosage could be an effective method of controlling both TCNM formation and acute toxicity. Overall, the results of this study contributed to the understanding of the TCNM formation mechanism as well as optimizing the parameters of the chlorine-UV process to reduce the risk of TCNM formation.

Rate constants of chlorine atom reactions with organic molecules in aqueous solutions, an overview

Rate constants of chlorine atom (Cl^•) reactions (k_Cl•) determined using a large variation of experimental methods, including transient measurements, steady-state and computation techniques, were collected from the literature and were discussed together with the reaction mechanisms. The k_Cl• values are generally in the 10⁸-10⁹ mol^-1 dm³ s^-1 range when the basic reaction between the Cl^• and the target molecule is H-atom abstraction. When Cl^• addition to double bonds dominates the interaction, the k_Cl• values are in the 1 × 10⁹-2 × 10¹⁰ mol^-1 dm³ s^-1 range. In the k_Cl• = 1 × 10¹⁰-4 × 10¹⁰ mol^-1 dm³ s^-1 range, single-electron-transfer reactions may also contribute to the mechanism. The Cl^• reactions with organic molecules in many respects are similar to those of ^•OH, albeit Cl^• seems to be less selective as ^•OH. However, there is an important difference, as opposed to Cl^• in the case of ^•OH single-electron-transfer reactions have minor importance. The uncertainty of Cl^• rate constant determinations is much higher than those of ^•OH. Since Cl^• reactions play very important role in the emerging UV/chlorine water purification technology, some standardization of the rate constant measuring techniques and more k_Cl• measurements are recommended.

Effects of MPUV/chlorine oxidation and coexisting bromide, ammonia, and nitrate on DBP formation potential of five typical amino acids

Disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation is a potential concern with regard to MPUV/Cl₂ application in water treatment. In this study, five typical amino acids (AAs) were selected to investigate their DBP alteration during short-term medium pressure (MP) UV/chlorine oxidation following post-chlorination relative to parallel dark controls. The five selected AAs include two potent DBP precursors (aspartic acid and tryptophan), one modest precursor (asparagine) and two poor precursors (phenylalanine and proline). MPUV/chlorine increased the total DBP formation and DBP-associated cytotoxicity of the two poor precursors phenylalanine (Phe) and proline (Pro) as well as their chlorine demands. Conversely, DBP formation and DBP-associated cytotoxicity of the three modest-to-potent DBP precursors showed the opposite changing trends due to MPUV/Cl₂ oxidation. The two aromatic AAs (tryptophan and phenylalanine) were more readily to be affected by MPUV/Cl₂ oxidation especially at acidic pH condition. Conversely, DBP formation and DBP-associated cytotoxicity of the three modest-to-potent precursors showed the opposite changing trends due to MPUV/Cl₂ oxidation. Among the measured DBPs, the absolute formation potential changes of haloacetic acids and haloacetonitriles were the most prominent. Presence of bromide increased the trihalomethane formation potential of five AAs. Ammonia-spiked samples resulted in notably higher chlorine demands but slightly reduced DBPFP. Photonitration caused increased haloacetonitrile and trichloronitromethane formation but lower overall DBP formation potential and DBP-associated cytotoxicity. Results indicated that increased DBP formation of unreactive aromatic AAs may be problematic with respect to MPUV/Cl₂ application, while the presence of inorganic ions may not contribute to further increase in calculated cytotoxicity of measured DBPs.