Disinfection of Drinking Water Rich in Bromide with Chlorine and Chlorine Dioxide, While Minimizing the Formation of Undesirable By-Products

Abstract

Although chlorine dioxide does not form trihalomethanes (THM) and produces very few non-volatile haloorganic materials in drinking water, intensive investigations bearing on the formation of chlorite by ClO2 disinfection reveal that the rate of chlorite formation reflects the rate of ClO2 consumption and as long as the amount of ClO2 applied is behind its demand, about 60% of the chlorine dioxide consumed is converted into chlorite. Mixtures of Cl2 and ClO2, which may successfully reduce the formation of haloorganic compounds, as well as of chlorite in the absence of bromide, fail to do this where water rich in bromide is concerned. As a result of bromide oxidation by chlorine, bromine is formed, which in turn reacts more intensively with organics than does chlorine and thus favours the formation of THM and other halogenated organic materials. This problem can, however, be circumvented if ClO2 is allowed to react in water with the organic precursors before chlorine is introduced. A pre-treatment with 1 ppm of ClO2 two hours before the application of 2 ppm Cl2, was found to reduce the formation of THM by 60% relative to its formation by chlorine alone, and the chlorite is reduced in this case by up to 90% relative to its formation by chlorine dioxide alone. This is of particular importance since it can solve some of the major problems bearing on the impact of disinfection upon the formation of undesirable by-products.