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Seawater disinfection by chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite. A comparison of biofilm formation

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Abstract

Continuous seawater disinfection by chlorine dioxide (ClO2) was studied at residual concentrations of 0.2 and 0.4 mg ClO2 L−1 and compared with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) disinfection at 1 mg L−1 of free chlorine. The results revealed that both disinfectants decrease the biological activity and cell counts in seawater. When NaClO was used, both the cell counts and the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level were diminished (1.8 log and 76 %, respectively); however, when ClO2 was used, the ATP level decreased to the same level as with NaClO (78–84 %), but the cell counts were reduced only weakly (~0.1 log). The biofilm concentration in seawater without disinfectants reached 700 pg ATP cm−2 after 40 days, whereas in the treated lines, the biofilms remained below 1 pg ATP cm−2 irrespective of the disinfectant and dose used. ClO2 generated much less trihalomethanes than NaClO (<1 vs. 154 μg L−1). Bromoform (77–96 %) was the predominant chemical species found in disinfected seawater.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Ercros for their financial support through the Fundació Bosch i Gimpera. The authors also thank Mrs. Laia Viure, Dr. Maximino Delgado and Mr. José Manuel Fortuño and all members of the Technical Services of the Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC) and Aleix Conesa from Leitat Technological Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franquès 1, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    F. Xavier Simon & Joan Llorens

  2. Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Elisa Berdalet

  3. Department of Innovation and Technology, Ercros SA, Avda. Diagonal 595, 08014, Barcelona, Spain

    Francisco A. Gracia & Francisco España

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  1. F. Xavier Simon
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Simon, F.X., Berdalet, E., Gracia, F.A. et al. Seawater disinfection by chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite. A comparison of biofilm formation. Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 1921 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-1921-1

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