• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.21 no.9
• /
• pp.1031-1041
• /
• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of disinfection by-products (DBPs-trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs) and haloacetonitriles (HANs) formation in chlorination of principal raw waters used for drinking water on Jeju Island, Korea. The domestic water supply of other area and humic acid solution (HA) were used as a reference point. The effects of chlorine contact time, solution temperature and pH on DBPs formation potential (DBPFP) were investigated for raw waters. In addition, the effect of $Br^-$ was studied for HA. The DBPFP (THMFP, HAAFP and HANFP) were increased with increasing chlorine contact time. Comparing the individual DBPFPs for raw waters, they decreased in the order of HAAFP > THMFP ${\geq}$ HANFP. As the solution temperature was increased, the THMFP, HAAFP and HANFP increased. With increasing the solution pH, the THMFP was increased, but HAAFP and HANFP were decreased. With the addition of 0.3 mg/L $Br^-$ for HA, the DBPFP was increased and the major chemical species changed: from trichloromethane to dibromochloromethane and tribromomethane for THMs; from dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid to tribromoacetic acid for HAAs; and from dichloroacetonitrile to dibromoacetonitrile for HANs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.588-597
• /
• 2004

In this research, we investigated the variation of transmembrane pressure and permeate water quality with pre coagulation and sedimentation with iron based coagulant and chlorination of feed water for PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) based MF membrane filtration. NaCIO was fed to the membrane module with dosage of 0.5mg/L and maintained during filtration. To observe the effect of raw water, three types of raw and processed waters, including river surface water, coagulated water and coagulated-settled water, were applied. In case of river surface water, the transmembrane pressure increased drastically in 500 hours of operation. On the contrary, no significant increase in transmembrane pressure was observed for 1,200 hours of operation for coagulated water and coagulated-settled waters. The turbidity of permeate was lower than a detection limit of equipment for all raw waters. The removal efficiency of humic substances of coagulated water and coagulated-settled water was approximate ten times of that of surface river water. And, the removal efficiency of TOC and DOC was approximate two times of that of surface river water. From the results of plant operation, stable operation was maintained at $0.9m^3/m^2{\cdot}day$ filtration flux through the combination of pre-coagulation and pre-chlorination. However, the water quality of permeate was the best when pre-coagulation-sedimentation process was combined with pre-chlorination.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.12 no.3_4
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 1997

The main reason of applying chlorination is to sterilize microbes existing in the drinking water treatment. But chlorination could lead to the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) by the reaction of free chlorine with humic substance in the water. Especially the DBPs including trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs), and haloketones (HKs) exist in the tap water. The US environmental protection agency (US EPA) defines that trihalomethanes, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and dichloroacetonitrile among DBPs are probable/possible human carcinogens. US EPA suggests maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for THMs (80$\mu$g/L) and HAAs (60$\mu$g/L) in drinking water. In Korea, THMs in drinking water has been surveyed but DBPs in general has not been studied in drinking water practically. Therefore only THMs have been regulating as criteria compounds since 1990 but neither HAAs nor HANs. Researches on HAAs are yet to be found. HAA formation potentials(HAAFPs) have not been practiced. HAAs depends on the characteristics of water sources by chlorination. In this study, HAAFPs from three distinct sources were investigated by laboratory chlorination experiments. This study was performed to measure the level of HAAs in drinking water in Seoul area. At April 1996, after collecting the raw waters from the three sites with the different properties, the water samples were chlorinated at various conditions(pH 5.5, pH 7.0 and without pH adjustment) in the state of raw water to have 0. 5mg/L of residual chlorine concentration. And the raw water, treated water, and tap water of water treatment were collected to measure the HAAs concentration. The quantitative analysis of HAAs was conducted by US EPA methods.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.105-111
• /
• 2005

The applicability of the USEPA's (United States Environmental Protection Agency) three criteria of enhanced coagulation (criterion 1-TOC level less than 2 mg/l. before chlorination; criterion II-% requirement of TOC removal; criterion III-point of diminishing return) for Korean waters was evaluated in this study. This study also investigated an effect of enhanced coagulation on turbidity removal, and attempted to identify the best coagulant for enhanced coagulation. Three different waters were used in this study: one river water and two lake waters. five different coagulants were used: alum, liquid alum, PACl, ferric chloride with and without water. Results of this study showed that all three criteria were achievable for the tested waters. For these waters, controlling criterion was found to be different depending upon raw water characteristics. When initial Toe level was low(< 4 mg/L), criterion I (< 2 mg/L) could be the controlling criterion. As TOC level increased, criterion II (% TOC removal) became the controlling criteria. It was possible to achieve different goals of turbidity and TOC removals. Although the optimum region of TOC removal was more acidic than that of turbidity removal, there was no conflict between these two removals. The best coagulant was found to be different depending upon the evaluation tool: maximum and optimum removal. ferric chloride was more effective than alum in terms of the maximum TOC removal, while Al-based coagulant such as alum or PACl was the best coagulant in terms of the optimum TOC removal.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.37 no.9
• /
• pp.505-510
• /
• 2015

This study investigated formation potential of 16 disinfection byproducts (DBPs) (e.g., g trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, haloacetonitriles, chloral hydrate, etc.) upon chlorination of raw water at various pH, water temperatures, and chlorine doses. We also compared the DBP formation potential (DBPFP) of raw and filtered waters. Most of DBPs were formed higher at neutral pH, but dichloroacetic acid, chloroform, and bromodichloromethane were formed higher over pH 7. As water temperature increased, concentrations of chloral hydrate, haloacetic acids, and haloacetonitriles linearly increased while that of trihalomethanes exponentially increased. Formation of chloral hydrate, trihalomethanes, and trihaloacetonitriles significantly increased up to 2.0 mg/L $Cl_2$ of chlorine addition, then gradually increased at 2.0~5.6 mg/L $Cl_2$. Filtered water formed less DBPs than raw water in most DBPs except for trihalomethanes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.126-132
• /
• 1997

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are formed during the chlorination of waters containing precusors compounds, most commonly humic substances, changes in pH, TOC, temperature, precusor source and concentration chlorine dosage, bromide level and reaction time directly influence trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) and kinetics. A standard THMFP experiment was conducted for each water under the following conditions ; $20^{\circ}C$, pH 7.4, reaction time of 48hr, TOC 5.7mgC/L. A series of kinetic experiments was conducted for each water to provide THM formation under varying conditions of reaction time, pH, temperature and TOC, chlorine dosage. The resultant mutiple parameter powre function predicts a THM which allows direct calculation of THM, is $[THM]=0.00039(pH-2.81)[TOC][Cl_2]^{0.321}\;t^{0.266}\;T^{0.286}$ Characteristics of raw water in advanced drinking water treatment pilot plant were, TOC levels ran from 4.42~6.84mgC/L, pH 7.2~7.8, temperature $7.0{\sim}18.4^{\circ}C$, UV-254 absorbance $0.057{\sim}0.85cm^{-1}$, THM levels ranged from 0.031~0.049mgC/L.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.758-766
• /
• 2008

To evaluate homologue patterns and removal efficiency before and after water treatment, the concentrations of dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) were determined in 122 samples from 42 drinking water treatment plants throughout Japan over a two year period. The mean concentrations and toxic equivalent (TEQ) values of dioxins in raw and treated waters were 60.24 pg/L (0.14 pg-WHO-TEQ/L) and 4.15 pg/L (0.016 pg-WHO-TEQ/L), respectively. The dioxins contribution ratio of drinking water in relation to dioxins tolerable daily intake (TDI, 4 pg-TEQ/kg/day) was 0.016%. The mean TEQ removal rate of dioxins by drinking water treatment was over 88%. However, the mean removal rate of 2, 3, 7, 8-TeCDF (tetrachlorodibenzofuran) by water treatment in the 122 samples was minus 17%. Therefore, to identify which process affected the level of 2, 3, 7, 8-TeCDF, the removal efficiencies at both the advanced and conventional water treatment plants were investigated. For the TEQ removal rate across the processes, the dioxin congeners, TeCDF and non-ortho-PCBs remarkably indicated minus values after chlorination in both the advanced and conventional water treatments plant. From this study, the level of 2, 3, 7, 8-TeCDF was found to be increased as a result of chlorination.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.205-212
• /
• 2008

This study aimed to investigate the biofilm formation, bacterial regrowth, and bacterial community structure in the granular-activated carbon (GAC) filter adsorbers (FAs) used in water treatment plants. In 2005 and 2006, raw water, settled water, GAC FA by depth, and filtered water were collected twice a year from water treatment plants (WTPs) B and S. The number of heterotrophic bacteria, including mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, in such collected waters was investigated along with the total number of coliforms therein. Heterotrophic bacteria were detected in most samples, mainly at the surface layers of the GAC FAs, and fewer such bacteria were found in the lower and bottom layers. An increase in the bacterial number, however, was observed in the samples from various depths of the GAC FAs in WTPs B and S compared with the surface layers. An increase in the bacterial number was also detected in the filtered water. This may indicate that there is a regrowth of the bacteria in the GAC FA. Considering, however, that heterotrophic bacteria were not found in the filtered water, it can be deduced that most bacteria are removed in the chlorination process. Coliforms were detected at the surface layer of the GAC FAs, but their regrowth was not observed. MicroLog systems were used to identify the bacteria community distribution. Eight genera and 14 species, including Pseudomonas spp., were detected in WTP B, and 8 genera and 9 species, including Aeromonas spp., in WTP S. Further studies are required to elucidate their role in the biofilms in water treatment processes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.269-276
• /
• 2015

This study investigated the influence of characteristics of natural organic matter (NOM) on the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs), and proposed the control strategies of DBPs formation in a drinking water treatment plant using lake water in Gyeongsangbuk-do. The fluorescence excitation-emission matrix analysis results revealed that the origins of NOM in raw waters to the plant were a mixture of terrestrial and microbial sources. Molecular size distributions and removals of NOM fractions were evaluated with a liquid chromatography-organic carbon detector (LC-OCD) analysis. Humic substances and low molecular weight organics were dominant fractions of NOM in the raw water. High molecular weight organics were relatively easier to remove through coagulation/precipitation than low molecular weight organics. The concentrations of DBPs formed by pre-chlorination increased through the treatment processes in regular sequence due to longer reaction time. Chloroform (74%) accounts for the largest part of trihalomethanes, followed by bromodichloromethane (22%) and dibromochloromethane (4%). Dichloroacetic acid (50%) and trichloroacetic acid (48%) were dominant species of haloacetic acids, and brominated species such as dibromoacetic acid (2%) were minimal or none. Dichloroacetonitrile (60%) accounts for the largest part of haloacetonitriles, followed by bromochloroacetonitrile (30%) and dibromoacetonitrile (10%). The formation of DBPs were reduced by 16~44% as dosages of pre-chlorine decreased. Dosages of pre-chlorine was more contributing to DBPs formation than variations of dissolved organic contents or water temperature.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.11-16
• /
• 2005

Humic substances(HS) from raw and process waters at a conventional water treatment plant were isolated and extracted by physicochemical fractionation methods to investigate their characteristics. They are characterized for their functionality, chemical composition, and spectroscopic characteristics using FT-IR(Fourier transform infrared) and $^1H-NMR$(proton nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy. Humic fraction gradually decreased from 47.2% to 26.4%(from 0.97 to 0.54 mgC/L) through conventional water treatment processes. Concentration of phenolic groups in the HS fraction gradually decreased from 60.5% to 21.8%(from 12.2 to $6.0\;{\mu}M/L$ as phenolic-OH) through water treatment. In the case of carboxylic groups, the concentration increased from 39.5% to 46.9%(from 7.9 to $10.6\;{\mu}M/L$ as COOH) by pre-chlorination, but gradually decreased to 34.2%($9.4\;{\mu}M/L$ as COOH) through sedimentation and sand filtration. From the results of the FT-IR and $^1H-NMR$ spectra of HS, the content of carboxylic groups increased and ratio of aliphatic protons to aromatic protons($P_{Al}/P_{Ar}$) also increased through water treatment, which indicated the increase of aliphatic compounds.