Abstract
Various advanced treatment processes including ultrafiltration (UF), ozonation, enhanced coagulation, and biological aerated filter (BAF) have been applied to reduce dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the secondary effluent of municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs). In this study, DOM were characterized and the relationship between DOM characteristics and disinfection by-products (DBPs) generation was investigated systematically. Results showed that BAF and ozonation processes could significantly affect DOM characteristics in the treated effluents and the following DBP generation. UF and enhanced coagulation reduced the production of DBPs by removing large molecular hydrophobic organics. The removal of low molecule DOM by BAF resulted in a 67.6% reduction in trihalomethanes (THMs) production. Ozonation could oxidize large hydrophobic DOM into small hydrophilic molecules containing aldehyde and ketone groups, leading to 54% increase of halogenated aldehydes (HALs) and halogenated ketones (HKs). Humic acid (HA) was the main organic type in DOM and important precursor for THMs and dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) formation. The generation of trichloromethane (TCM) showed a significant positive correlation (R2 = 0.987) with the specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA). Large molecule hydrophobic DOM devoted the most to the formation of carbonaceous disinfection by-products and \({\text{N}}{\text{H}}_{4}^{+}\)–N content was an important factor affecting the generation of nitrogenous disinfection by-products. These results are important for the optimization of advanced treatment process in MWTPs, and controlling DBPs should consider the removal of low MW hydrophobic DOM and the reduction of SUVA.
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Abbreviations
- UF :
-
Ultrafiltration
- BAF :
-
Biological aerated filter
- DOMs :
-
Dissolved organic matters
- MWTPs :
-
Municipal wastewater treatment plants
- DBPs :
-
Disinfection by-products
- MW :
-
Molecular weights
- HA :
-
Humic acid
- THMs :
-
Trihalomethanes
- DCAN :
-
Dichloroacetonitrile
- C-DBPs :
-
Carbonaceous disinfection by-products
- HALs :
-
Halogenated aldehydes
- HKs :
-
Halogenated ketones
- TCM :
-
Trichloromethane
- N-DBPs :
-
Nitrogenous disinfection by-products
- COD :
-
Chemical oxygen demand
- DOC :
-
Dissolved organic carbon
- TP :
-
Total phosphorus
- TN :
-
Total nitrogen
- THMFP :
-
Trihalomethane formation potential
- HAAs :
-
Haloacetic acids
- DBPFP :
-
Disinfection by-product formation potential
- DCAA :
-
Dichloroacetic acid
- RW :
-
Raw wastewater
- PAC :
-
Poly aluminum chloride
- UV254 :
-
UV absorbance at 254 nm
- HIS :
-
Hydrophilic substances
- HOA :
-
Hydrophobic acids
- HOB :
-
Hydrophobic bases
- MWD :
-
Molecular weights distribution
- HANs :
-
Haloacetonitriles
- HAcAms :
-
Haloacetamides
- HAs :
-
Halogenated aldehydes
- MTBE :
-
Methyl-tert butyl ether
- FI :
-
Fluorescence index
- AP :
-
Aromatic proteins
- FA :
-
Fulvic acid
- SMPs :
-
Soluble microbial byproducts
- PARAFAC :
-
Parallel factor analysis
- DCP :
-
Dichloroacetone
- TCP :
-
Trichloroacetone
- TCM :
-
Trichlormethane
- BDCM :
-
Bromodichloromethane
- DBCM :
-
Dibromo monochloromethane
- DCAN :
-
Dichloroacetonitrile
- HAcAms :
-
Haloacetamides
- TCPFP :
-
Trichloroacetone formation potential
- TCMFP :
-
Trichlormethane formation potential
- HANs :
-
Haloacetonitriles
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to show my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Liqiu Zhang, a respectable, responsible, and resourceful scholar, who has provided me with valuable guidance in every stage of the writing of this thesis. Secondly, I would also like to thank the teachers and students who helped me. They gave me great help during the revision and submission of my thesis.
Funding
This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41977317, 42177051, and 52170021), Beijing Municipal Education Commission through the Innovative Transdisciplinary Program “Ecological Restoration Engineering.”
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Xingyue Li: writing-original draft, formal analysis, data curation, investigation, methodology, writing—review and editing, and validation. Shiqi Liu: writing—review and editing. Shiqi Wang: experiment and investigation. Li Feng: funding acquisition and supervision. Peng Gao: writing—review and editing. Yongze Liu: funding acquisition and supervision. Liqiu Zhang: resources, conceptualization, and supervision.
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Li, X., Liu, S., Wang, S. et al. Removal performance of dissolved organic matter from municipal secondary effluent by different advanced treatment processes and preventing the formation of disinfection by-products. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 109738–109750 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30028-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30028-3