• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.31-42
• /
• 2022

Dissolved organic matter (DOM), which changes according to various factors, is ubiquitously present from natural environments to engineered treatment systems. Only limited information is available regarding the environmental functions of DOM after bulk analyses are only applied for characterization. In this paper, latest DOM analytical techniques are briefly introduced, which include fluorescence excitation-emission matrix with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), size-exclusion chromatography with an organic carbon detector (SEC-OCD), carbon/nitrogen stable-isotope ratio, and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectroscopy (FT-ICR-MS). Recent examples of using advanced analyses to interpret the phenomena associated with DOM occurring in natural and engineered systems are presented here. Through EEM-PARAFAC, different components like protein-like, fulvic-like, and humic-like can be identified and tracked individually through the investigated systems. SEC-OCD allows researchers to quantify different size fractions. FT-ICR-MS provides thousands of molecular formulas present in bulk DOM samples. Lastly, carbon/nitrogen stable-isotope ratio offers reasonable tools for tracking the sources in environments. We also discuss the advantages and weakness of the above-mentioned characterizing tools. Specifically, they focus on single environmental factors (different sourced-DOM and interaction of sediment-pore water) or simple changes after individual treatment processes. Through collaboration with the advanced techniques later, they help the researchers to better understand environmental behaviors in aquatic systems and serve as essential tools for addressing various pending problems associated with DOM.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.9-12
• /
• 2010

Trimethylboroxine (TMB) is a six-membered ring compound containing Lewis acidic boron and Lewis basic oxygen atoms that can bind halide anion and alkali metal cation, respectively. We employed Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy to study the gas-phase binding of $LiBrLi^+$ and $F^-(KF)_2$ to TMB. TMB forms association complexes with both $LiBrLi^+$ and $F^-(KF)_2$ at room temperature, providing direct evidence for the ditopic binding. Interestingly, the $TMB{\cdot}F^-(KF)_2$ anion complex is formed 33 times faster than the $TMB{\cdot}Li^+BrLi$ cation complex. To gain insight into the ditopic binding of an ion pair, we examined the structures and energetics of $TMB{\cdot}Li^+$, $TMB{\cdot}F^-$, $TMB{\cdot}LiF$ (the contact ion pair), and $Li^+{\cdot}TMB{\cdot}F^-$ (the separated ion pair) using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory. Theory suggests that $F^-$ binds more strongly to TMB than $Li^+$ and the contact ion-pair binding ($TMB{\cdot}LiF$) is more stable than the separated ion-pair binding ($Li^+{\cdot}TMB{\cdot}F^-$).

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.257-274
• /
• 2020

There are many previous review articles are available to summarize either the characterization methods of effluent organic matter (EfOM) or the individual control treatment options. However, there has been no attempt made to compare in parallel the physicochemical treatment options that target the removal of EfOM from biological treatments. This review deals with the recent progress on the characterization of EfOM and the novel technologies developed for EfOM treatment. Based on the publications after 2010, the advantages and the limitations of several popularly used analytical tools are discussed for EfOM characterization, which include UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). It is a recent trend to combine an SEC system with various types of detectors, because it can successfully track the chemical/functional composition of EfOM, which varies across a continuum of different molecular sizes. FT-ICR-MS is the most powerful tool to detect EfOM at molecular levels. However, it is noted that this method has rarely been utilized to understand the changes of EfOM in pre-treatment or post-treatment systems. Although membrane filtration is still the preferred method to treat EfOM before its discharge due to its high separation selectivity, the minimum requirements for additional chemicals, the ease of scaling up, and the continuous operation, recent advances in ion exchange and advanced oxidation processes are greatly noteworthy. Recent progress in the non-membrane technologies, which are based on novel materials, are expected to enhance the removal efficiency of EfOM and even make it feasible to selectively remove undesirable fractions/compounds from bulk EfOM.