Xunchao Li,Cong Li,Mingda Bayier,Taotao Zhao,Tuqiao Zhang,Xinbo Chen,Xinwei Mao
Residual chlorine decay and trihalomethanes (THM) formation of desalinated seawater by ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes in a pilot-scale water distribution system (DWDS) were investigated. Three-dimensional fluorescent features of two source waters including NF permeate and municipal water were studied. Sixteen groups of data-sets were obtained to explore the effects of initial chlorine concentration (ICC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and temperature on chlorine decay and THM formation in laboratory conditions and pilot-scale DWDS, respectively. A first-order model was applied to evaluate the chlorine decay of desalinated seawater and a new model combining ICC, DOC concentration, and temperature was obtained to determine the first-order decay coefficient. Other seven models describing the kinetics of chlorine decay were also applied and compared in this study. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) formation kinetics was studied and first-order model was suggested to describe this formation. The relationship between TTHM formation and chlorine demand was demonstrated and the results showed that second-order polynomial model better described the relationship.
Jianeng Xu,Conghui Huang,Xiaoyang Shi,Shengkun Dong,Baoling Yuan,Thanh H. Nguyen
PVC pipe loops were constructed to simulate household premise plumbing. These pipe loops were exposed to water treated by physical processes at three water treatment plants in Xiamen, China from August 2016 to June 2017. After the biofilms were allowed to develop inside the pipes, these pipes were deconstructed and exposed to organic-free chlorine solution buffered at pH 6.8 ± 0.2 for 48 h. The decay of chlorine by these biofilms was higher than by the effluent waters that were used to grow the biofilms. A chlorine consumption mass balance model elucidated the role of both the diffusion of chlorine into the biofilm and the reaction of chlorine with the biofilm matrix. Comparable concentrations of trihalomethanes were quantified from the reaction between chlorine and source water organic matters, and chlorine and the biofilm, further emphasizing the role of biofilms in the safety of disinfected drinking water. These findings imply that when chlorine is used in the drinking water distribution system, the ubiquitous presence of biofilms may cause the depletion of chlorine and the formation of non-negligible levels of toxic disinfection byproducts.