Chlorine Tastes and Odors from Pipe Coating

Abstract

I was very much interested in the article by С A. Hechmer on the probable formation of phenolic compounds by a chlorinated water in contact with a coal tar paint.3 During the past three months I had a similar experience, and had drawn a similar conclusion, yet have been afraid to mention the same for fear of ridicule. We put a million gallon rapid sand filter plant into operation the first of December, 1921. Owing to the lack of proper chlorine control equipment, a home-made device was used for about two weeks, consisting of a needle valve on the chlorine tank to control the feed. The chlorine passed through a rubber tube to a large and heavy wash bottle having a two-hole rubber stopper in the top, glass tubes were put through the stopper, one with the end restricted to a very small opening and long enough to reach nearly the bottom of the bottle for the chlorine and the other, much larger, connected to a clear water supply just long enough to enter the bottle through the stopper. The resulting solution was fed out through the side neck to a rubber tube extending to the bottom of the clear well ending in a large pan of very fine sand to act as a diffuser. This equipment was original with the writer and was in use at our slow sand filters for about four months. We were able to secure remarkable control in this manner, after a bit of experimenting to secure the proper adjustment of the needle valve. The chlorine would issue in small bubbles from the longer tube in plain sight. Our records show that less than Yt pound