Effect of disinfection method on odor and disinfection byproduct control in drinking water treatment

Abstract

Odor problems in drinking water have drawn worldwide concern. Chlorine oxidation of odor in water can produce disinfection byproducts (DBPs). In this study, effect of disinfection method (common disinfections (sodium hypochlorite disinfection, chloramine disinfection, chlorine dioxide disinfection), synergistic disinfection of chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite, sequential chlorine disinfection, and UV synergistic disinfection) on odor and DBP control in drinking water treatments were investigated. The results showed that chloramine and chlorine dioxide could better control odor and DBP. The best ratio of sodium hypochlorite to chlorine dioxide (synergistic disinfection) for odor and DBP control was 1:1. UV synergistic disinfection (compared with chloramine and chlorine dioxide) had little effect on odor and DBP control. Disinfection methods showed little effect on odor and DBP control during pre-chlorination + conventional water treatment process. Odor and DBP could be efficiently controlled by chloramine and chlorine dioxide disinfection during pre-ozonation followed by biological activated carbon + O₃ process.

Keywords:

• Disinfection method
• Odor
• DBP
• Drinking water treatment

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (HIT, grant number 2013DX12), Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (grant number 2012ZX07408001), and National Science Foundation (grant numbers 51208140, 21206125, and 51478314).

Notes

Presented at the 7th International Conference on Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE 2014) 12–16 October 2014, Johor Bahru, Malaysia