Modification de la matière organique lors des traitements conventionnels de potabilisation

La filtration successive des eaux, préalablement filtrées sur membrane de porosité 0,45 µm puis acidifiées à pH 2, sur deux colonnes de résines XAD8 et XAD4 placées en série, caractérise la matière organique en trois grandes classes : les substances hydrophobes, les acides hydrophiles et les hydrophiles non retenus. Cette étude s'est intéressée à déterminer et à analyser l'impact sur la distribution hydrophobe/hydrophile des traitements conventionnels utilisés dans les usines de production d'eau potable.En ce qui concerne l'effet de la clarification, la distribution hydrophobe/hydrophile du COD a été inchangée dans le cas de sept prélèvements sur dix, indiquant une isoélimination de chaque fraction. Dans le cas des eaux R1.2, R4 et R6.1, une diminution de la fraction hydrophobe est obtenue entre l'eau brute et son eau clarifiée. L'étude de différents coagulants indique que la distribution de la matière organique des eaux clarifiées dépend de sa composition initiale mais aussi de la nature du coagulant mis en oeuvre. Le chlorure ferrique permet une meilleure élimination de chaque fraction comparativement à un sel d'aluminium.Un traitement d'oxydation à un taux de 1,5 mg Oxydant/mg COD et quel que soit l'oxydant mis en oeuvre (O3, Cl2, ClO2) diminue significativement les substances hydrophobes et augmente les substances hydrophiles. Ces résultats sont logiques si nous nous référons au mode d'action de ces trois oxydants. L'ozonation d'eaux brute et clarifiée s'accompagne aussi d'une augmentation du CODB, soulignant que les substances hydrophiles générées par l'étape d'ozonation seraient biodégradables.Des campagnes de prélèvements ont indiqué que les traitements de finition (ozonation, filtration sur CAG) en configuration industrielle ont une légère influence sur la distribution interne de la matière organique. Les résultats, du fait de taux de traitement plus faibles, sont moins nets que ceux obtenus en laboratoire. Une filtration sur CAG, précédée d'une étape d'ozonation, conduit à une augmentation de la fraction hydrophobe et à une diminution du CODB.Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in natural waters is a mixture of compounds. Some authors have fractionated this organic matter into large classes (humic substances, hydrophilic acids . . .). Humic substances have been defined as the fraction of organic matter retained on XAD8 resin at acidic pH (THURMAN and MALCOLM 1981); this isolation procedure is recommended by the International Humic Substances Society. Only a few investigators have dealt specifically with hydrophilic substances which are not adsorbed on XAD8 resin at acidic pH. The "hydrophobic/hydrophilic" distribution can be determined by a simple method of organic matter fractionation, using two superimposed XAD8 and XAD4 resin columns (CROUE et al. 1993). This procedures, carried out at pH 2, consists of first isolating hydrophobic substances (essentially humic acids) on an XAD8 resin and then isolating the hydrophilic acids from the XAD8 effluent on an XAD4 resin.The aim of this work was to study the evolution of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic distribution during water treatment steps as applied in waterworks. The analytical procedure was first applied to determine the change in the DOM distribution of ten surface waters after clarification. The results obtained after clarification were completed by the study of the effect of the coagulant nature (ferric chloride, aluminium sulphate, prehydrolyzed salt (WAC)). In the second phase, oxidation experiments using ozone, chlorine and chlorine dioxide were conducted on raw and clarified waters to determine their effect on the DOM distribution. Finally the fractionation procedures were carried out on two water treatment plants to compare our laboratory data with results obtained in a working plant and to observe the change in DOM distribution during granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration.Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were analysed using a Dohrman DC 80 apparatus. UV absorbance was measured with a one or five centimeter cell using an Uvikon spectrophotometer. Oxidation experiments were carried out in a batch procedure. The study of different coagulants was made in the laboratory with a Jar Test procedure described elsewhere (LEFEBVRE 1990). Biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) was analyzed according to the suspended bacteria method (SERVAIS et al. 1987, 1989).The hydrophobic/hydrophilic distributions of raw and clarified waters were found to be unchanged by the clarification step in seven of ten test waters. These results indicate that for a studied water, the relative reduction in DOC of one fraction was of the same order of magnitude as the other fraction. The distributions of R1.2, R4 and R6.1 were significantly modified by the clarification treatment. In these three cases, the hydrophobic substances showed the greater DOC reduction. The "non-retained" hydrophilic substances became predominant in the R6.1 clarified water, whereas in the cases of R4 and R1.2 the total hydrophilic fraction and the hydrophilic acids increased, respectively.The results obtained in the laboratory on three different raw waters, clarified by different coagulants (ferric chloride or aluminium salts), showed that the nature of the coagulant (iron or alum) can influence the hydrophobic/hydrophilic distribution. A marked influence was found in the case of R6 and less significant results were obtained for R1.2. Powdered activated carbon had no real effect on the DOC distribution, under our experimental conditions (applied dosage 25 mg/L). If the removal of each fraction is considered, and if it is assumed that each removal is independent from the others, ferric chloride appears to be the best coagulant. It removes humic substances efficiently as well as hydrophilic acids (> 72%), but is less efficient for the "non-retained" hydrophilic fraction. The DOC distribution of a clarified water depends on the distribution in the original raw water and the nature of the coagulant.Under our experimental conditions (applied dosage: 1.5 mg oxidant / mg DOC), ozone, chlorine and chlorine dioxide significantly affected the DOM distribution of the R1.2 water. The hydrophobic substances showed the higher relative DOC reduction, which can be correlated with an increase in the hydrophilic fraction. The greatest change was obtained for treatment with ozone. In the case of chlorine and chlorine dioxide, an increase of the "non-retained" hydrophilic fraction was observed whereas for ozone the two hydrophilic fractions increased. These results are in agreement with current knowledge about the action of ozone, chlorine and chlorine dioxide.An increase in the BDOC fraction was observed with the applied ozone dosage. In the case of R1, ozonation of raw and clarified waters appeared to shift the dissolved organic carbon distribution towards the "non-retained" hydrophilics. A good correlation exists between the BDOC increase (BDOC/BDOCo) and the decrease of hydrophobic acids or the increase of "non-retained" hydrophilics (slopes are respectively 12.3 ; - 16.5 and 15.5). In the case of another sample of R1.2, the comparison of BDOC in the XAD4 effluents of raw and ozonated waters indicated that at least 62% of BDOC produced by ozonation was in this fraction. This result indicates that the "non-retained" hydrophilics of this raw water are not biodegradable compared with those induced by ozonation.Results obtained on samples taken on two water treatment plants indicate that ozonation and GAC filtration have a small effect on the hydrophobic/hydrophilic DOM distribution. Intermediate ozonation at the industrially applied dose slightly modifies the distribution; a slight decrease of hydrophobic substances is observed. GAC filtration induces an increase of the hydrophobic fraction. The water treatment process includes clarification (EFS), inter-ozonation (EFSO3), and GAC filtration (EFCAG). GAC filters A and B had been respectively running for one and three years; filter C has been regenerated one month before. Good organic matter removal is obtained during clarification (removal of DOC and UV-absorbance: 75% and 88%). This treatment step changes the DOM distribution: increase of the hydrophobic fraction and decrease of the hydrophilic fraction. BDOC was completely removed. Intermediate ozonation (0.7 mg O3/mg DOC) modifies the DOC distribution and creates BDOC. This BDOC, in absolute value (0.36 mg/l), is equal to the increase of hydrophilic fraction. On the oldest filters (A and B) BDOC was completely removed, but this was not the case for filter C, probably because the bacterial biomass was insufficient. On GAC filters hydrophilic substances were found to be better removed than humic substances. The age of the GAC bed seems to have an effect on DOC distribution: the effluent from the oldest GAC filter contained less of the hydrophobic fraction than did the effluent from the youngest filter

Formation of methyl iodide on a natural manganese oxide

This paper demonstrates that manganese oxides can initiate the formation of methyl iodide, a volatile compound that participates to the input of iodine into the atmosphere. The formation of methyl iodide was investigated using a natural manganese oxide in batch experiments for different conditions and concentrations of iodide, natural organic matter(NOM) and manganese oxide. Methyl iodide was formed at concentrations ≤1 μg L-1 for initial iodide concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 38.0 mg L-1. The production of methyl iodide increased with increasing initial concentrations of iodide ion and Mn sand and when pH decreased from 7 to 5. The hydrophilic NOM isolate exhibited the lowest yield of methyl iodide whereas hydrophobic NOM isolates such as Suwannee River HPOA fraction produced the highest concentration of methyl iodide. The formation of methyl iodide could take place through the oxidation of NOM on manganese dioxide in the presence of iodide. However, the implication of elemental iodine cannot be excluded at acidic pH. Manganese oxides can then participate with ferric oxides to the formation of methyl iodide in soils and sediments. The formation of methyl iodide is unlikely in technical systems such as drinking water treatment i.e. for ppt levels of iodide and low contact times with manganese oxides

Etude sur les acides fulviques extraits d'eaux superficielles françaises - Extraction, caractérisation et réactivité avec le chlore

Après avoir présenté quelques données bibliographiques sur les substances humiques aquatiques, l'extraction de plusieurs substances humiques issues de onze eaux de surface françaises, est discutée en terme de rendements d'extraction. Quelques paramètres de caractérisation des acides fulviques sont présentés et en particulier, l'analyse élémentaire, l'absorption UV, les fonctions carboxyles et les potentiels de réactivité avec le chlore. Concernant la chloration, une attention particulière a été portée d'une part sur la nature produits organo-chlorés formés et d'autre part sur les corrélations qui existent entre la nature des acides fulviques et leur potentiel de réactivité avec le chlore.Numerous procedure for the isolation of aquatic humic substances are described in literature. The first part of this study presents the extraction of fulvic and humic acids from eleven French surface waters, using XAD 8 macroreticular resin as developed by TRURMAN and MALCOLM (1981). The results are discussed in terms of extraction yield and fulvic acid/humic acid mass ratio.The second part of the paper presents some structural parameters of the extracted fulvic acids such as elemental analysis, UV-absorbance, carboxyle-function content and in some cases of fulvic acids, infrared spectrum and apparent molecular weight investigated by ultra filtration.The third part of the work concerns the study of fulvic acids chlorination. Firstly, the gas chromatography - mass spectrometry analysis of one chlorinated fulvic acid allowed us to identify some chlorination by-products and especially chloroform, dichloro-acetic and trichloroacetic acids and some other chlorinated aliphatic acids. Secondly, the chlorine reactivity potentials of each fulvic acids were determined and results are discussed in terms of chlorine consumption, chloroform and total organohalides formation potentials. Some relationships are established between the chlorine reactivity potentials and UV-absorbance of the extracted fulvic acids

Étude de la production des ions bromate lors de l'ozonation des eaux de la Banlieue de Paris : choix du mode d'ozonation et variation des param tres physico-chimiques

Cette étude a permis d'évaluer l'importance de la concentration en ions bromure, de la température et de la nature de la Matière Organique Naturelle (MON) sur la production des ions bromate en s'appuyant sur des expériences conduites en laboratoire et sur pilote semi-industriel (Centre d'Essais de Méry-sur-Oise).Trois campagnes d'ozonation effectuées en parallèle à Méry-sur-Oise et au LCEE (Laboratoire de Chimie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement) sur des eaux filtrées sable, ont montré que les expériences conduites en laboratoire et sur pilote semi-industriel mènent à des résultats similaires, soit une relation linéaire [BrO3-]=f (C∙τ) vérifiant une pente identique pour des conditions expérimentales données (teneur en ions bromure, température, origine de l'eau). Ces travaux ont montré de façon nouvelle qu'une faible variation de la concentration en ions bromure (± 15 à 20 µg.L-1) suffisait à modifier significativement la formation des ions bromate. A C∙τ=10 et T=21°C, la production des ions bromate est passée de 16 à 27 µg.L-1 pour une augmentation de la concentration en ions bromure de 80 à 95 µg.L-1. Les résultats obtenus ont montré de plus que la température est un facteur important puisqu'une différence de 8°C (13 à 21°C) a entraîné, pour la même eau (80 µg.L-1 d'ions bromure, C∙τ=10), une augmentation de la concentration en ions bromate de 10 à 16 µg.L-1. Pour d'autres eaux (Seine, Marne et Oise), trois autres campagnes conduites avec des eaux clarifiées ont été effectuées après ajustement de la teneur en ions bromure et régulation de la température, ces trois eaux présentant par ailleurs des caractéristiques similaires en ce qui concerne le pH et l'alcalinité. A C∙τ équivalent, la production d'ions bromate s'est avérée significativement plus faible pour l'eau de l'Oise que pour les deux autres eaux. La nature de la MON pourrait donc avoir une influence notable sur la formation des ions bromate.The publication of Kurokawa et al. in 1990 confirming the toxicity of bromate of rats and mice, initiated the research effort that was internationally conducted during the last seven years to better understand the reaction mechanisms of bromate formation during the ozonation of natural waters. Based on the research findings regarding the effect of a number of parameters (bromide, ozone dose, pH, temperature, alkalinity, DOC content, ammonia, ...), predictive models (empirical and reaction kinetic based models), including molecular and/or radical pathways, have been developed with more or less success. Complementary results are still needed to better understand this complex mechanism.The main objective of our work was to evaluate how the seasonal variation of the physical chemical characteristics of Paris-area source waters (i.e. bromide content, temperature, natural organic matter) can affect the production of bromate during ozonation. In order to confirm that lab-scale experiments could be proposed to develop such research program, parallel tests were first conducted at the bench- and pilot-scale based on comparable C∙τ conditions. The lab-scale reactor was a 380 ml glass column (internal diameter: 0.02 m; height: 1.2 m) equipped with a water jacket to allow temperature to be varied and maintained. These reactor was used as a continuous flow reactor with recirculation. The pilot-scale ozonation contactor installed at the Méry sur Oise water treatment plant was comprised of four 30-liter columns in series (diameter: 0.1m ; height: 4m). The first column is used as the application column while the three others are used as residence column. The results have shown that lab-scale ozonation experiments conducted on Méry sur Oise sand filtered water led to similar results compared to pilot ozonation conducted on the same water and at the same temperature (sampled the same day) using the Méry sur Oise pilot-scale reactor. For applied C∙τ that ranged from 4 to 20 mg O3/L.min, similar linear relationship between bromate formation and applied C∙τ was obtained with the two reactors.A survey conducted on the Oise River has shown that the bromide concentration ranged from 40 µg/L (winter period) to 80 µg/L (summer period). If it is already well known that higher the bromide content, higher the bromate formation, our work has also pointed out that even a small increase of the bromide concentration from 80 to 95 µg/L (15 µg/L of bromide spiked as KBr) can significantly impact the bromate formation (same experimental conditions) that, as an example, increased from 16 to 27 µg/L for C.t of 10 at 21 °C.The temperature of the Oise river can vary from 5 °C up to 25 °C. Using carefully controlled temperature conditions, one can observed that the slope of the bromate production versus applied C∙τ increased with increasing temperature (same water). For example, the production of bromate during the ozonation (applied C∙τ=10) of the Méry sur Oise sand filtered water was 7, 10 and 16 µg/L for 5, 13 and 21 °C, respectively. Complementary experiments, have shown that the impact of the variation of the initial bromide concentration was proportionally more important for low-temperature water (5 to 13 °C) than for moderate-temperature water (20 °C).The origin and nature of the water is considered to play a significant role on the formation of bromate during ozonation, however few studies have evaluated the importance of these parameters using carefully controlled experimental conditions. In order to better define how important is the change in bromate production with the modification of the quality of the Paris suburbs water sources, especially the organic content (nature and concentration of the NOM), two sets of experiments were conducted.In the first part of the work, the Méry sur Oise sand filtered water was sampled at three different periods of the year 1996 (June, July and December), and the ozonation experiments were conducted at the same temperature (21 °C) after bromide concentration was adjust to 80 µg/L. The three water samples had the same pH and did not contain ammonia. Significant differences were observed in the bromate production, showing a larger production with the winter water as compared to the summer water. The fact that the winter water was enriched in DOC (3.7 mg/L of DOC) as compared to the two others (2.6 - 2.7 mg/L of DOC) may explain this difference since a larger ozone dose was probably necessary (ozone transfert not controlled because of the small size of the lab-scale reactor) to reach the same applied C∙τ due to a higher ozone consumption from the natural organic matter. The slightly lower alkalinity of the winter sample (200 mg/L as CaCO3 as compared to 250 mg/L CaCO3 for the summer samples) could have led to a less pronounced scavenger effect, condition that favors the radical pathway which is generally predominant. However, it is also known that carbonate species can also promote the formation of bromate due to the production of carbonate radicals. Comparing the results obtained with the water samples collected during the summer period, more bromate was produced in July than in June. The higher hydrophobic character (more aromatic in character) of the NOM of the water sampled in July (SUVA=2.15) as compared to the June sample (SUVA=1.88), characteristic that favor the ozone consumption and consequently the OH radical production, may justify this finding.In the second part of the work, the bromate formation obtained during the ozonation of the three major water sources of the Paris suburbs (sampled after clarification), Oise River, Marne River and Seine River, was compared (same temperature) after the bromide content was adjust to 80 µg/L. Similar results were obtained with the clarified Marne river and Seine River, the two waters showing the same physical chemical characteristics (2.2 and 2.5 mg/L of DOC; pH 7.9 and 7.8; Alkalinity: 225 and 210 mg/L as CaCO3). A lower production of bromate as a function of the applied C∙τ was observed with the clarified Oise river, result that is in contradiction with our previous hypotheses since this water source showed the highest DOC content, the highest SUVA and the lowest alkalinity among the three waters studied.More work needs to be done to better understand the impact of the origin and nature of the NOM on the bromate formation mechanisms. As a general conclusion, this work also confirmed that the physical chemical characteristics of source water (DOC, temperature, alkalinity, bromide content,…) are more important factors as compared to the hydraulic characteristics of the reactor.Keywords

Impact des traitement de potabilisation sur le CODB et la distribution des substances humiques et non humiques de la matière organique naturelle

Cette étude a consisté à évaluer et à comparer l'impact des traitements de coagulation-floculation, ozonation et filtration sur charbon actif en grains sur la matière organique dissoute de différentes eaux de rivières et de retenues françaises en s'appuyant sur le suivi de deux paramètres principaux, la fraction biodégradable du carbone organique dissous (CODB) et la distribution des substances humiques et non humiques (établie sur la base d'un protocole de filtration en série sur résines XAD-8 et XAD-4 ).Dans le cas des eaux étudiées, la coagulation-floculation s'est accompagnée d'une diminution importante du COD, soit 38 à 70 %, impact qui se répercute dans des proportions équivalentes au niveau de sa fraction biodégradable soit 38 à 88%. Dans la majorité des cas, la clarification conduit à l'élimination préférentielle des substances humiques (définies comme hydrophobes), qui correspondent aux fractions de plus hautes masses moléculaires. Comparativement, et pour des taux supérieurs à 1 mg O3/mg C, l'ozonation entra"ne une réduction de la fraction des substances humiques qui se traduit par une augmentation de la fraction des substances non humiques et en particulier des substances hydrophiles non adsorbées sur résines XAD-8 et XAD-4. Cette modification, d'autant plus marquée que le taux d'ozone est important, s'accompagne d'une augmentation proportionnelle de la fraction biodégradable du COD. Le suivi en usine a montré que les taux d'ozone appliqués lors d'une interozonation modifient peu la nature du COD. Par contre, la filtration sur charbon actif en aval change de manière importante la distribution de la matière organique dissoute avec une augmentation relative de la fraction hydrophobe et des composés de faibles masses moléculaires apparentes (< 1 000 daltons).The goal of our study was to evaluate the impact of water treatment processes (i.e. coagulation- flocculation, ozonation and GAC filtration) on the natural organic matter (NOM) of various river and reservoir waters based on DOC and BDOC analyses and the determination of the humic/non humic NOM distribution (fractionation of the DOC at acidic pH using two successive XAD-8 and XAD-4 resin columns). Analyses carried out on ten French raw surface waters have shown that the BDOC fraction accounted for 11 to 38 % of the DOC. The humic/non humic distribution of the NOM varied slightly with the origin of the studied water. About 50 to 60 % of the DOC was found to be incorporated into the humic fraction (NOM adsorbed on the XAD-8 resin), the hydrophilic acids (adsorbed on the XAD-4 resin) accounted for 10 to 25 % of the DOC while the non adsorbed hydrophilic solutes (hydrophilic neutrals that constitute the XAD-8/XAD-4 effluent) represented 15 to 30 % of the DOC.Clarified water samples were collected from water treatment plants after coagulation/flocculation/sand filtration when no preoxidation was used. For water utilities which included a preoxidation step in their treatment process, raw water samples were coagulated and flocculated at a laboratory scale with Jar Test equipment using the same conditions (nature of the coagulant, pH, dose) as those used in the corresponding treatment plant. Globally, 38 to 70 % of the DOC and 38 to 88 % of the BDOC were removed during coagulation-flocculation, depending on the water site. In general, the humic/non humic NOM distribution of clarified waters showed a slight increase in the proportion of the non humic organic fraction as compared to raw waters, which indicates that humic substances (higher molecular weight organics) are preferentially removed during coagulation-flocculation. Ozonation experiments were carried out on a raw water and a clarified water sampled from the same water site using a semi batch reactor (ozone was generated from high purity oxygen). For both waters, very little variation of the humic/non humic NOM distribution was observed for applied ozone doses around 0.5 mg O3/mg C or below. For higher ozone doses, the NOM distribution was dramatically changed despite only a small reduction of the DOC. The large reduction of the humic fraction was followed by a proportional increase of the non adsorbed hydrophilic solute fraction (small reduction of the DOC). As the applied ozone dose was increased from 1 to 3 mg O3/mg DOC, the non-adsorbed hydrophilic solute fraction also increased. The shift from high molecular weight organics such as humic materials to more hydrophilic organics (high polarity and low molecular weight organic solutes) during ozonation has often been mentioned in the literature. The increase of the non humic substances was followed by an increase of the BDOC. Results have also shown that higher ozone doses yield higher BDOC. Similar observations could be made with the raw and the clarified water.As a conclusion of this work, samples were collected at the different steps of a water treatment plant (raw water, clarified water, intermediate ozonated water, GAC filtered water). The impact of coagulation/flocculation, and intermediate ozonation on BDOC and the humic/non humic NOM distribution confirmed the previous observations. The GAC filtration had a large impact on the DOC distribution while the BDOC was only slightly reduced. The NOM of the treated water was found to be more hydrophobic in nature with compounds that showed apparent molecular weights below 1 000 daltons (more than 80 % of the DOC)

Complete Genome Sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia AB550, an Environmental Solar Radiation- and Multidrug- Resistant Strain Isolated in Western Australia

We report here the complete genome sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia AB550, a multidrug- and solar radiation-resistant strain isolated from the effluents of an urban wastewater treatment plant in Western Australia. The genome consists of a single 4.9-Mb chromosome

Survival of antibiotic resistant bacteria following artificial solar radiation of secondary wastewater effluent

Urban wastewater treatment plant effluents represent one of the major emission sources of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in natural aquatic environments. In this study, the effect of artificial solar radiation on total culturable heterotrophic bacteria and ARB (including amoxicillin-resistant, ciprofloxacin-resistant, rifampicin-resistant, sulfamethoxazole-resist ant, and tetracycline-resistant bacteria) present in secondary effluent was investigated. Artificial solar radiation was effective in inactivating the majority of environmental bacteria, however, the proportion of strains with ciprofloxacin-resistance and rifampicin-resistance increased in the surviving populations. Isolates of Pseudomonas putida, Serratia marcescens, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia nosocomial pathogens were identified as resistant to solar radiation and to at least three antibiotics. Draft genome sequencing and typing revealed isolates carrying multiple resistance genes; where S. maltophilia (resistant to all studied antibiotics) sequence type was similar to strains isolated in blood infections. Results from this study confirm that solar radiation reduces total bacterial load in secondary effluent, but may indirectly increase the relative abundance of ARB

Molecular characterisation of the dissolved organic matter of wastewater effluents by MSSV pyrolysis GC–MS and search for source markers

Microscale sealed vessel pyrolysis (MSSVpy) was used to characterise the hydrophobic (HPO) and colloid (COL) fractions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the effluents (EFFs) of two waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) and several primary source waters (SWs). The EFFs showed a large range of anthropogenically sourced organics – including the metabolites of industrial chemicals (e.g., dioxanes, n- and sec-alkyl substituted benzenes and long chain alkyl phenols), pharmaceuticals (e.g., N- and S-heterocycles) and human waste (e.g., S- and N-organics, steranes/sterenes) – as well as high concentrations of alkyl aromatic and N-organic products (e.g., alkyl indoles, carbazoles and β-carbolines) attributed to the treatment biota. Some anthropogenic chemicals are potentially toxic at even trace levels, whilst the N-organics may be precursors for toxic N-disinfection by-products. Much lower concentrations of just a few of the anthropogenic and N-organic products were detected by more traditional flash pyrolysis (Flash-py) of the EFF samples, reflecting the higher sensitivity of MSSVpy to many chemical functionalities. Few of these products were detected in the corresponding MSSVpy analysis of the SWs, but these samples did show relatively high abundances of lignin (e.g., alkylphenols) and carbohydrate (e.g., furans) derived products. Their lower EFF abundances are consistent with efficient removal by the water treatment procedures applied. Conversely, the detection of the anthropogenics in the treated EFFs reflects their general resistance to treatment. Their occurrence in the HPO fractions isolated by XAD resin separation suggests a potential relationship with the structurally stable macromolecular fraction of the DOM

Understanding the fouling of UF/MF hollow fibres of biologically treated wastewaters using advanced EfOM characterization and statistical tools

Five secondary effluents and a river water source were characterized using size exclusion chromatography (LC-OCD-UVD-OND) and emission–excitation matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy in order to identify the major effluent organic matter (EfOM) fractions responsible for membrane fouling. This study showed the feasibility of coupling fluorescence EEM and LC-OCD-UVD-OND to investigate the fouling potential as well as a means to differentiate natural organic matter (NOM) from EfOM. The secondary effluents and river water showed a significant difference in organic matter characteristics and fouling potential, highlighting the importance of biological processes and the feed water source on EfOM characteristics and fouling potential. On the basis of statistical analysis, protein-like substances were found to be highly correlated to the fouling potential of secondary effluents

Formation of emerging disinfection by-products by chlorination/chloramination of seawater impacted by algal organic matter

The aim of this work was to study the formation of haloacetamides (HAcAms) and other DBPs during chlorination and chloramination of algal organic matter (AlOM). The HAcAms formation potentials of different precursors (amino acids, simulated algal blooms grown in the Red Sea) were evaluated. Experiments with simulated algal blooms were conducted in the presence of bromide ion (synthetic seawater containing 800 µg/L Br) to assess the formation of brominated analogues of HAcAms in conditions close to the disinfection of real seawater. Chlorination produced more HAcAms than chloramination from real algae (Synecococcus sp.), thus indicating that the nitrogen of HAcAms comes predominantly from DON through the decarboxylation of amino acids rather than from NH2Cl. Dibrominated species of DBPs (i.e., DBAcAm, DBAA and DBAN) were the dominant species formed by both chlorination and chloramination of algal bloom samples. Chloramination of the amino acid asparagine produced an important amount of DCAcAm as compared to chlorination, indicating the existence of a specific reaction pathway