Guanghui Hua

Correlation between SUVA and DBP formation during chlorination and chloramination of NOM fractions from different sources

Natural organic matter (NOM) is the major precursor to the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during drinking water treatment. Specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) is a widely used surrogate parameter to characterize NOM and predict its DBP formation potential. The objective of this study was to determine the relationships between SUVA and different classes of DBPs formed by NOM fractions from different sources. Three natural waters with a wide SUVA range were fractionated into differing hydrophobicity and molecular weight groups using XAD-4 and XAD-8 resins and ultrafiltration membranes. Each NOM fraction was treated with chlorine and monochloramine under controlled laboratory conditions. Different classes of DBPs showed different relationships with SUVA. SUVA correlated strongly with trihaloacetic acids (THAAs) and unknown total organic halogen (UTOX) yields whereas weak correlations were observed between SUVA and trihalomethane (THM) and dihaloacetic acid (DHAA) yields during chlorination. These results reinforce the hypothesis that DHAAs and THAAs form through different precursors and reaction pathways. Strong correlation between SUVA and UTOX was also observed during chloramination. However, no significant relationship was observed between SUVA and chloramination THMs and DHAAs. Overall, SUVA is a good indicator for the formation of unknown DBPs. This indicates that UV absorbing compounds and aromatic carbon within NOM are the primary sources of precursors for unknown DBPs.

Evaluation of bromine substitution factors of DBPs during chlorination and chloramination.

Bromine substitution factor (BSF) was used to quantify the effects of disinfectant dose, reaction time, pH, and temperature on the bromine substitution of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during chlorination and chloramination. The BSF is defined as the ratio of the bromine incorporated into a given class of DBPs to the total concentration of chlorine and bromine in that class. Four classes of DBPs were evaluated: trihalomethanes (THMs), dihaloacetonitriles (DHANs), dihaloacetic acids (DHAAs) and trihaloacetic acids (THAAs). The results showed that the BSFs of the four classes of DBPs generally decreased with increasing reaction time and temperature during chlorination at neutral pH. The BSFs peaked at a low chlorine dose (1 mg/L) and decreased when the chlorine dose further increased. The BSFs of chlorination DBPs at neutral pH are in the order of DHAN > THM & DHAA > THAA. DHAAs formed by chloramines exhibited distinctly different bromine substitution patterns compared to chlorination DHAAs. Brominated DBP formation was generally less affected by the pH change compared to chlorinated DBP formation.

Effect of pre-ozonation on the formation and speciation of DBPs.

The objective of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the effect of pre-ozonation on the formation and speciation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from subsequent chlorination and chloramination. Laboratory experiments were conducted on six diverse natural waters with low to medium bromide concentrations. Four groups of DBPs were investigated in this study: trihalomethanes (THMs), trihaloacetic acids (THAAs), dihaloacetic acids (DHAAs), and dihaloacetonitriles (DHANs). The results showed that the relative destructions of chlorination DBP precursors by ozone generally follow the order of DHANs > THMs & THAAs > DHAAs. Pre-ozonation substantially increased the DHAA precursors in the waters with low specific ultraviolet absorbance values. Pre-ozonation shifted the formation of DBPs to more brominated species. The bromine substitution factors (BSF) of different chlorination DBPs typically increased by 1-8 percentage points after ozonation. Pre-ozonation reduced the yields of chloramination DHAAs and THMs and increased the BSFs of chloramination DHAAs by 1-6 percentage points.

Evaluation of industrial by-products and natural minerals for phosphate adsorption from subsurface drainage

ABSTRACT Agricultural subsurface drainage has been recognized as an important pathway for phosphorus transport from soils to surface waters. Reactive permeable filters are a promising technology to remove phosphate from subsurface drainage. Three natural minerals (limestone, zeolite, and calcite) and five industrial by-products (steel slag, iron filings, and three recycled steel by-products) were evaluated for phosphate removal from subsurface drainage using batch adsorption experiments. Phosphate adsorption onto these materials was characterized by Langmuir isotherm and second-order kinetic models. The adsorption capacities increased by factors of 1.2–2.5 when temperature was increased from 5°C to 30°C. Industrial by-products exhibited phosphate adsorption capacities that were one order of magnitude higher than natural minerals. Medium-sized steel chips exhibited high phosphate adsorption capacities (1.64–3.38 mg/g) across different temperatures, pH values, organic matter concentrations, and real drainage water matrixes. The strong chemical bonds between phosphate and steel by-products prevented the release of adsorbed phosphate back to the solution. The steel by-product filter can be paired with a woodchip bioreactor for nitrate and phosphate removal. It is suggested that the phosphate filter be connected to a woodchip bioreactor after the startup phase to minimize the impact of dissolved organic matter on phosphate adsorption. The results of this study suggest that the low-cost steel by-products examined could be used as effective adsorption media for phosphate removal from subsurface drainage.

Nutrient Removal from Agricultural Subsurface Drainage Using Denitrification Bioreactors and Phosphate Adsorbents

Abstract. Agricultural subsurface drainage is widely used to remove excess water from the soil. Nitrate and phosphate contained in subsurface drainage can negatively affect water quality. The objective of this project is to develop a new woodchip bioreactor system using iron media as post-treatment to simultaneously remove nitrate and phosphate from subsurface drainage. Batch testing was conducted to determine removal capacity of selected steel by-products. Maximum adsorption capacities for A500 steel shavings, 1018 carbon steel chips, 1018 carbon steel small turnings and 1018 carbon steel large turnings were 5.81, 2.00, 1.47, and 1.30 mg phosphate/g steel, respectively. Two column reactors were built to simulate a woodchip bioreactor followed by the steel media as post-treatment. The design hydraulic retention times for the woodchips and steel media are 24hr and 6hr, respectively. The results of the column experiments show that woodchips completely remove nitrate in the influent (20 mg/L ad N) at design conditions. A 55% reduction of phosphate from the initial 1 mg/L was observed through the woodchip reactor after 100 days of operation. The steel media completely removed any phosphate from the woodchip reactor effluent. Doubling and quadrupling the flow from the design HRT lead to a nitrate reduction of 92% and 54% respectively from the influent of 20 mg N/L. A wet and dry cycle test was performed indicating that complete denitrification is achieved within 24hr of start-up. This new technology has great potential to reduce the nutrient loading from agricultural subsurface drainage to surface water bodies.