Gang Dianchen, Clevenger Thomas E, Banerji Shankha K
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Missouri Water Resources Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, E 1511 Engineering Building East, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
J Hazard Mater. 2003 Jan 3;96(1):1-12. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3894(02)00164-4.
Because of increasing concern about balancing health risks for pathogen control and disinfection by-product (DBP) formation in water supplies, utilities are forced to closely examine and optimize their disinfection practices. A better understanding of the relationship between the molecular weights of the natural organic matter (NOM), chlorine decay kinetics and THMs formation can help the utilities to minimize the DBP concentrations, providing healthier and microbially safer water. The authors present data on chlorine decay kinetics and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) formation kinetics and modeling with different molecular weights NOM fractions of Mississippi River water. TTHM modeling results indicated that the TTHM formation in fractionated NOM was a function of chlorine consumption. TTHM yield coefficients ranged from 31 to 42 microg-TTHM/mg-Cl2. As the molecular weight of the fractions decreased, TTHM yield coefficients increased.
