Toxicity-directed identification of disinfection by-products with high risk

Abstract

Disinfection unit in water treatment process can effectively prevent the spread of water-borne diseases. However, disinfection by-products (DBPs) may cause adverse effects on human health and ecological security. The species number of DBPs are large, and properties and concentrations of DBPs are quite different. Among them, those DBPs with high risk should be identified and controlled effectively. The exposure dose and toxicity effects are two important factors for screening DBPs with high risk. Lots of current studies on DBPs focused on the identification of unknown DBPs, while the aimless identification was usually low efficiency on screening DBPs with high risk. Toxicity-directed identification of DBPs with high risk is an innovative method, and in which the toxicity assay plays a key role. According to this method, firstly researchers can screen out the components containing highly toxic DBPs, and then purposively identify the specific molecular structure of DBPs with high risk. The toxicity-directed method is helpful to efficiently identify DBPs with high risk. This review briefly summarizes the methods of identify the molecular structure and toxicity assay of DBPs, and introduces the characteristics and procedures of this method, which may provide reference for controlling water quality after disinfection treatment.