Jean-Philippe Croué

Fouling characteristics of wastewater effluent organic matter (EfOM) isolates on NF and UF membranes

Wastewater effluent organic matter (EfOM) was isolated into different fractions including colloids, and hydrophobic (HPO) and transphilic (TPI) fractions. The EfOM isolates were characterized by different techniques, for example, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with on-line UVA and DOC detectors, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), specific UVA (SUVA), and total sugars analysis. The colloidal fraction is primarily composed of polysaccharides, proteins, and/or aminosugars, providing a hydrophilic character. The HPO and TPI fractions possessed characteristics of humic substances, i.e. high aromaticity and carboxylic functional groups. A superimposition of the EfOM isolates reflects characteristics of bulk wastewater effluents, consisting of refractory natural organic matter (NOM) conveyed from the drinking water source and soluble microbial products (SMP) derived during biological processes of wastewater treatment. Each EfOM isolate exhibited different characteristics in fouling of NF and UF membranes due to their distinct characters. The colloidal fraction showed high flux decline and fouling on NF and UF membranes primarily due to the effects of pore blockage. The HPO and TPI fractions exhibited less fouling and flux decline than the colloids due to their molecular size as well as electrostatic repulsion between organic acids and the membrane surface. However, hydrophobic interactions play a significant role with hydrophobic membranes, causing a reduction of permeate flux. Membrane autopsies using FTIR identified functional groups of organic foulants, supporting the evidence of flux decline by each EfOM isolate. Polysaccharides and/or aminosugars from the colloids in wastewater effluent were found to play an important role in fouling of NF and UF membranes.

Production of Sulfate Radical from Peroxymonosulfate Induced by a Magnetically Separable CuFe2O4 Spinel in Water: Efficiency, Stability, and Mechanism

A simple, nonhazardous, efficient and low energy-consuming process is desirable to generate powerful radicals from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for recalcitrant pollutant removal. In this work, the production of radical species from PMS induced by a magnetic CuFe(2)O(4) spinel was studied. Iopromide, a recalcitrant model pollutant, was used to investigate the efficiency of this process. CuFe(2)O(4) showed higher activity and 30 times lower Cu(2+) leaching (1.5 μg L(-1) per 100 mg L(-1)) than a well-crystallized CuO at the same dosage. CuFe(2)O(4) maintained its activity and crystallinity during repeated batch experiments. In comparison, the activity of CuO declined significantly, which was ascribed to the deterioration in its degree of crystallinity. The efficiency of the PMS/CuFe(2)O(4) was highest at neutral pH and decreased at acidic and alkaline pHs. Sulfate radical was the primary radical species responsible for the iopromide degradation. On the basis of the stoichiometry of oxalate degradation in the PMS/CuFe(2)O(4), the radical production yield from PMS was determined to be near 1 mol/mol. The PMS decomposition involved an inner-sphere complexation with the oxides surface Cu(II) sites. In situ characterization of the oxide surface with ATR-FTIR and Raman during the PMS decomposition suggested that surface Cu(II)-Cu(III)-Cu(II) redox cycle was responsible for the efficient sulfate radical generation from PMS.

Chlorination studies of free and combined amino acids

Abstract Nitrogenous organic compounds in raw and treated water are of concern because they may exert high chlorine demand. They are also known as precursors of halogenated compounds. In this study, chlorine demand, TOX and THM formation potentials of 22 free amino acids, and some polypeptides and proteins were determined. Results have shown that the reactivity of free amino acids with chlorine is related to their structure. Experiments conducted with combined amino acids have shown that the amide linkage does not participate significantly in the chlorine demand of polypeptides, and does not seem to be TOX precursor. Specific amino acids that possess reactive side groups such as amino nitrogen, sulfur or activated aromatic ring were defined as the main chlorine consumer and TOX precursor sites of polypeptides. Complementary experiments indicated that sodium sulfite dechlorination can affect, more or less, the determination of amino acids TOXFP.

Efficient Peroxydisulfate Activation Process Not Relying on Sulfate Radical Generation for Water Pollutant Degradation

Peroxydisulfate (PDS) is an appealing oxidant for contaminated groundwater and toxic industrial wastewaters. Activation of PDS is necessary for application because of its low reactivity. Present activation processes always generate sulfate radicals as actual oxidants which unselectively oxidize organics and halide anions reducing oxidation capacity of PDS and producing toxic halogenated products. Here we report that copper oxide (CuO) can efficiently activate PDS under mild conditions without producing sulfate radicals. The PDS/CuO coupled process is most efficient at neutral pH for decomposing a model compound, 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). In a continuous-flow reaction with an empty-bed contact time of 0.55 min, over 90% of 2,4-DCP (initially 20 μM) and 90% of adsorbable organic chlorine (AOCl) can be removed at the PDS/2,4-DCP molar ratio of 1 and 4, respectively. Based on kinetic study and surface characterization, PDS is proposed to be first activated by CuO through outer-sphere interaction, the rate-limiting step, followed by a rapid reaction with 2,4-DCP present in the solution. In the presence of ubiquitous chloride ions in groundwater/industrial wastewater, the PDS/CuO oxidation shows significant advantages over sulfate radical oxidation by achieving much higher 2,4-DCP degradation capacity and avoiding the formation of highly chlorinated degradation products. This work provides a new way of PDS activation for contaminant removal.

Chloramination of nitrogenous contaminants (pharmaceuticals and pesticides): NDMA and halogenated DBPs formation

Disinfection with chloramines is often used to reduce the production of regulated disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). However, chloramination can lead to the formation of N-nitrosamines, including N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen. Previous research used dimethylamine (DMA) as a model precursor of NDMA, but certain widely used tertiary dimethylamines (e.g. the pharmaceutical ranitidine) show much higher conversion rates to NDMA than DMA. This study investigates the NDMA formation potential of several tertiary amines including pharmaceuticals and herbicides. The reactivity of these molecules with monochloramine (NH(2)Cl) is studied through the formation of NDMA, and other halogenated DBPs such as haloacetonitriles (HANs) and AOX (Adsorbable Organic Halides). Several compounds investigated formed NDMA in greater amounts than DMA, revealing the importance of structural characteristics of tertiary amines for NDMA formation. Among these compounds, the pharmaceutical ranitidine showed the highest molar conversion to NDMA. The pH and dissolved oxygen content of the solution were found to play a major role for the formation of NDMA from ranitidine. NDMA was formed in higher amounts at pH around pH 8 and a lower concentration of dissolved oxygen dramatically decreased NDMA yields. These findings seem to indicate that dichloramine (NHCl(2)) is not the major oxidant involved in the formation of NDMA from ranitidine, results in contradiction with the reaction mechanisms proposed in the literature. Dissolved oxygen was also found to influence the formation of other oxygen-containing DBPs (i.e. trichloronitromethane and haloketones). The results of this study identify several anthropogenic precursors of NDMA, indicating that chloramination of waters impacted by these tertiary amines could lead to the formation of significant amounts of NDMA and other non-regulated DBPs of potential health concern (e.g. dichloroacetonitrile or trichloronitromethane). This could be of particular importance for the chloramination of wastewater effluents, especially during water reuse processes.

The formation of halogen-specific TOX from chlorination and chloramination of natural organic matter isolates

The formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) is a public health concern. An important way to evaluate the presence of DBPs is in terms of the total organic halogen (TOX), which can be further specified into total organic chlorine (TOCl), bromine (TOBr), and iodine (TOI). The formation and distribution of halogen-specific TOX during chlorination and chloramination of natural organic matter (NOM) isolates in the presence of bromide and iodide ions were studied. As expected, chloramination produced significantly less TOX than chlorination. TOCl was the dominant species formed in both chlorination and chloramination. TOI was always produced in chloramination, but not in chlorination when high chlorine dose was used, due to the limited presence of HOI in chlorination as a result of the oxidation of iodide to iodate in the presence of excess chlorine. The formation of TOI during chloramination increased as the initial iodide ion concentration increased, with a maximum of approximately 60% of the initial iodide ion becoming incorporated into NOM. Iodine incorporation in NOM was consistently higher than bromine incorporation, demonstrating that the competitive reactions between bromine and iodine species in chloramination favoured the formation of HOI and thus TOI, rather than TOBr. Correlations between the aromatic character of the NOM isolates (SUVA(254) and % aromatic C) and the concentrations of overall TOX and halogen-specific TOX in chloramination were observed. This indicates that the aromatic moieties in NOM, as indicated by SUVA(254) and % aromatic C, play an important role in the formation of overall TOX and halogen-specific TOX in chloramination. THMs comprised only a fraction of TOX, up to 7% in chloramination and up to 47% in chlorination. Although chloramine produces less TOX than chlorine, it formed proportionally more non-THM DBPs than chlorine. These non-THM DBPs are mostly unknown, corresponding to unknown health risks. Considering the higher potential for formation of iodinated DBPs and unknown DBPs associated with the use of chloramine, water utilities need to carefully balance the risks and benefits of using chloramine as an alternative disinfectant to chlorine in order to satisfy guideline values for THMs.

Influence of the character of NOM on the ozonation of MIB and geosmin

Tastes and odours (T&Os) are a major concern in drinking water as they are not efficiently removed by conventional water treatment. Ozonation has been effective for their destruction in some studies. However, the natural organic matter (NOM) in waters can affect the ozonation process and subsequently affect the destruction of T&Os. Five NOM fractions were isolated and ozonated in synthetic waters. The fraction containing the more highly coloured, higher molecular weight compounds exhibited the highest ozone (O3) demand, whereas the low aromatic fraction exhibited the lowest O3 demand. The character of the NOM fractions influenced the ozonation of MIB and geosmin. The destruction of MIB and geosmin was significantly higher in the fraction with the highest colour and UV/visible absorbance at all O3 doses. The destruction of the compounds in the other fractions showed the same trends, increasing MIB and geosmin destruction with increasing UV/visible absorbing character of the NOM. MIB was also ozonated in two real waters. with results showing a competing effect between NOM concentration and NOM character. The O3 reaction time was shown to be important for the destruction of both compounds.

Identification of effluent organic matter fractions responsible for low-pressure membrane fouling

Anion exchange resin (AER), powder activated carbon (PAC) adsorption and ozonation treatments were applied on biologically treated wastewater effluent with the objective to modify the effluent organic matter (EfOM) matrix. Both AER and PAC led to significant total organic carbon (TOC) removal, while the TOC remained nearly constant after ozonation. Liquid Chromatography-Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD) analysis showed that the AER treatment preferentially removed high and intermediate molecular weight (MW) humic-like structures while PAC removed low MW compounds. Only a small reduction of the high MW colloids (i.e. biopolymers) was observed for AER and PAC treatments. Ozonation induced a large reduction of the biopolymers and an important increase of the low MW humic substances (i.e. building blocks). Single-cycle microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) tests were conducted using commercially available hollow fibres at a constant flux. After reconcentration to their original organic carbon content, the EfOM matrix modified by AER and PAC treatments exhibited higher UF membrane fouling compared to untreated effluent; result that correlated with the higher concentration of biopolymers. On the contrary, ozonation which induced a significant degradation of the biopolymers led to a minor flux reduction for both UF and MF filtration tests. Based on a single filtration, results indicate that biopolymers play a major role in low pressure membrane fouling and that intermediate and low MW compounds have minor impact. Thus, this approach has shown to be a valid methodology to identify the foulant fractions of EfOM.

Formation of NDMA and Halogenated DBPs by Chloramination of Tertiary Amines: The Influence of Bromide Ion

The formation of NDMA and other DBPs (including THMs, HANs, and HKs) has been investigated by chloramination of several tertiary amines in the absence and presence of bromide ion. NDMA formation from the most reactive tertiary amines (e.g., dimethylaminomethylfurfuryl alcohol or DMP30) was enhanced in the presence of bromide due to the formation of brominated oxidant species such as bromochloramine (NHBrCl) and the hypothetical UDMH-Br as an intermediate. The formation of NDMA by chloramination of less reactive model compounds was inhibited in the presence of bromide. This can be explained by competitive reactions leading to the production of brominated DBPs (i.e., THMs). In the presence of bromide, the formation of brominated THMs during chloramination can be attributed to the presence of small amounts of HOBr produced by the decomposition of chloramines and bromamines. The results are of particular interest to understand NDMA formation mechanisms, especially during chloramination of wastewaters impacted by anthropogenic tertiary amines and containing bromide ion.

Rate constants of reactions of bromine with phenols in aqueous solution

The kinetics of bromination of six ortho- and para-substituted phenols was investigated between pH 5 and pH 12 in aqueous solution. Kinetics was followed with a continuous-flow reactor previously validated by studying the fast reaction between chlorine and ammonia. The overall reaction rate between bromine and phenols is controlled by the reaction of HOBr with the phenoxide ion between pH 6 and pH 10. The reaction of HOBr with the undissociated phenols and the reaction of BrO(-) with the phenoxide ions become only significant for pH<6 and pH>10, respectively. The second-order rate constants for the reaction of HOBr with phenoxide ions vary between 1.4(+/-0.1)x10(3) and 2.1(+/-0.5)x10(8)M(-1)s(-1) for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and 4-methylphenol, respectively. Hammett-type correlation was obtained for the reaction of HOBr with the phenoxide ions (log(k)=8.0-3.33 x Sigmasigma) and was compared with Hammett-type correlations of HOCl and HOI. The reaction rate of bromine with phenol-like organic compounds was estimated to be about 10(3)-fold higher than with chlorine and 10(3)-fold lower than with ozone in drinking water treatment conditions.