Initial Chlorine Concentration Research Articles

Optimizing removal of antiretroviral drugs from tertiary wastewater using chlorination and AI-based prediction with response surface methodology

Chemical and pharmaceutical chemicals found in water sources create substantial risks to human health and the environment. The presence of pharmaceutical contaminants in water can cause antibiotic resistance development, toxicity to aquatic organisms, and endocrine disruption. Hence, the elimination of chemicals and other contaminants from wastewater prior to its release is a burgeoning concern in the domains of engineering and science. The use of treatment technologies in wastewater treatment plants can remove pharmaceutical contaminants through the oxidation process. However, many traditional wastewater treatment plants lack the advanced monitoring tools required to detect low concentrations of pharmaceuticals. Without the ability to detect these compounds, it's challenging to treat them effectively. The goal of this study was to use Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) algorithms to model and improve how Nevirapine and Efavirenz break down in different chlorination conditions. The RSM analysis revealed statistically significant models (F-values: Nevirapine, pH-t: 108.15, T-t: 76.55, ICC-t: 110.84), indicating a strong correlation between operational parameters (pH, temperature, and initial chlorine concentration) and degradation behavior. The ANN model accurately predicted the degradation of both Nevirapine and Efavirenz under various chlorination conditions, as confirmed by analyzing actual-predicted graphs, residual plots, and Mean Squared Error (MSE) values. The ANN model using ICC-t achieved the highest MOD value of 31.31 % for Nevirapine. The ANN model based on ICC-t yielded a maximum MOD value of 16.06 % for Efavirenz. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing chlorination processes for better removal of these pharmaceutical contaminants from water.

Influence of physical and water quality parameters on residual chlorine decay in water distribution network

Chlorine is the most common disinfectant in drinking water distribution practice. World Health Organization recommends 0.2–5.0 mg/l of residual chlorine in drinking water. This paper analyzed influence of physical and water quality parameters on chlorine decay in drinking water distribution. Principal component analysis, directed tree and regression were used to investigate influence of these parameters on chlorine from water treatment plant to water consumption points. Results show that initial chlorine, electrical conductivity and distance explain 62 % of chlorine decay with estimated error of 0.045 mg/l. The decision-tree feature importance scores of initial chlorine and electrical conductivity were 0.47 and 0.23 respectively. The combined feature importance scores of physical parameters of distance (0.09), pipe diameter (0.06), flow velocity (0.03), pressure (0.02) and travel time (0.046) were less than that for initial chlorine concentration (0.47) alone. These results show that conventional chlorination at water treatment plants removes largely fast inorganic reactants leaving traces of slow organic reactants as the dominant secondary contaminants in water distribution system. The key policy recommendation is to use water quality parameters more than physical parameters in order to enable water utility managers maintain residual chlorine within safe public health standards.

Genetic diversity of murine norovirus populations less susceptible to chlorine.

High genetic diversity in RNA viruses contributes to their rapid adaptation to environmental stresses, including disinfection. Insufficient disinfection can occur because of the emergence of viruses that are less susceptible to disinfection. However, understanding regarding the mechanisms underlying the alteration of viral susceptibility to disinfectants is limited. Here, we performed an experimental adaptation of murine norovirus (MNV) using chlorine to understand the genetic characteristics of virus populations adapted to chlorine disinfection. Several MNV populations exposed to an initial free chlorine concentration of 50 ppm exhibited reduced susceptibility, particularly after the fifth and tenth passages. A dominant mutation identified using whole-genome sequencing did not explain the reduced susceptibility of the MNV populations to chlorine. Conversely, MNV populations with less susceptibility to chlorine, which appeared under higher chlorine stress, were accompanied by significantly lower synonymous nucleotide diversity (πS) in the major capsid protein (VP1). The nonsynonymous nucleotide diversity (πN) in VP1 in the less-susceptible populations was higher than that in the susceptible populations, although the difference was not significant. Therefore, the ability of MNV populations to adapt to chlorine was associated with the change in nucleotide diversity in VP1, which may lead to viral aggregate formation and reduction in chlorine exposure. Moreover, the appearance of some nonsynonymous mutations can also contribute to the alteration in chlorine susceptibility by influencing the efficiency of viral replication. This study highlights the importance of understanding the genetic characteristics of virus populations under disinfection, which can contribute to the development of effective disinfection strategies and prevent the development of virus populations less susceptible to disinfectants.

Model Development for Residual Chlorine

The research is to develop a mathematical model for the decay of residual chlorine at the nodes and compare with results from Epanet 2.0. All the influencing parameters of initial chlorine Ccl(init(o)), bulk decay (Kb), wall decay (KW) and travel time (t), were well represented and the equation is developed applying the differential form of the first order chlorine decay model, describing reactions occurring in the bulk fluid and at the pipe wall, which was transformed in to chlorine concentration-based integral expression Ccl (t) =Ccl (o).e-kt , is the free chlorine (HOCL) concentration (mg/l) at time (t), which is also called the residual chlorine. is the chlorine concentration at time zero, which is the initial chlorine concentration in the entire water distribution systems. KW is the pipe wall decay coefficient of the particular water distribution pipe network directly affected by initial concentration. K is expressed in the study as the decay due to the quality of water, known as bulk decay coefficient (kb), per unit hour (t=1) at any particular node per hour. he developed mathematical model was a reflection of the reality in the study area Rcl (n)=Ccl (init). KW. е-Kb . The results of the model at nodes 31, 12, 13, 14, 18, 10, 17, 15, 20 and 21 are 0.18 mg/l, 0.19 mg/l, 0.19 mg/l, 0.19 mg/l, 0.19 mg/l, 0.19 mg/l, 0.20 mg/l, 0.19 mg/l, 0.20 mg/l, 0.19mg/l, respectively. Epanet 2.0 results for the same nodes were determine to be 0.17 mg/l, 0.21 mg/l, 0.22 mg/l, 0.20 mg/l, 0.21 mg/l, 0.21 mg/l, 0.25 mg/l, 0.24 mg/l, 0.20 mg/l, 0.20 mg/l, 0.18 mg/l. The correlation between the developed mathematical model residual chlorine results and Epanet 2.0 results gives moderate correlation of 0.561, signifying 60% pearson correlation and 0.01, 2-tailed significance level at 99%.

Machine-learning-assisted prediction and optimized kinetic modelling of residual chlorine decay for enhanced water quality management

The quality of water changes from source to tap, presenting challenges in maintaining consistent water quality across the system. Predicting water quality in distribution systems, including disinfectant residual loss and by-product formation, has been the subject of research since the early 1990s. Although numerous models have been proposed to predict residual chlorine decay, disputes exist among researchers and experts over the superiority of certain models. Accordingly, this study modified the existing process-based bulk decay models by replacing the initial Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) concentration parameter with TRC demand, leading to an improvement in the models' performance. The modification resulted in a 38.03%, 28.02%, 23.11%, and 33.29% average improvement in Mean Squared Error (MSE) values for the First Order Model (FOM), Parallel First Order Model (PFOM), Second Order Model (SOM), and Parallel Second Order Model (PSOM), respectively. The study also introduced an online predictive method based on a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm that predicts the first-order TRC bulk decay rate by using water quality parameters as inputs. A Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model was used to predict the kinetic parameters in FOM, which accurately predicted the test sets for most of the cases. In addition, a new methodology was proposed in this study for predicting TRC in water distribution systems that incorporates the variability of source natural organic matter, operational actions, and water demands. This method seeks to develop high-fidelity and robust water quality predictions that provide operational decision support for optimized distribution system management. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of understanding water quality changes from source to tap and the challenges of maintaining consistent water quality across the system. The study suggests modifying existing models and introducing a novel methodology for predicting residual chlorine in water distribution systems that can improve water quality management and, ultimately, better public health outcomes.

Transformation behavior of the ultraviolet absorbent 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-di-tert-pentylphenol (UV328) in polyethylene plastic under chlorination

In plastic, a 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-di-tert-pentylphenol (UV328) ultraviolet light absorber is a common additive. When using sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) to disinfect plastic, UV328 may react with NaClO. For this work, we investigated the transformation behavior of UV328 in polyethylene (PE) plastic by NaClO. The reaction rate increased with the initial free active chlorine (OCl−) concentration and the decrease of the initial UV328 concentration. At room temperature (25 °C) to lower temperatures (0 °C), OCl− could transform UV328, and the reaction activation energy was fitted as 31.10 kJ/mol. Replacement of the plastic carrier (change to polypropylene) had no effect on the reaction process. A total of 12 intermediates were identified, and calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were used to assist in rationalizing the product structure. Chlorination, hydroxylation, coupling, and bond cleavage were speculated as the main transformation pathways. Dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) were the only two measured disinfection by-products in the system, and their concentration were 18.33 and 18.19 μg/g, respectively. The toxicity prediction by Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T) illustrated that the toxicity of the transformation products was higher overall than that of UV328 during the reaction. This work can help to deepen the understanding of the transformation behavior of UV328 in PE plastic in NaClO solution.

AUTOMATION OF CHLORINE DOSAGE ADJUSTMENT CALCULATION IN DEEP TUBULAR WATER WELLS USING A JAVASCRIPT AND HTML SCRIPT

Background: Chlorine, in the form of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), is widely used in water treatment to make it safe for human consumption. There are three main forms of chlorine: chlorine gas (Cl2), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), and calcium hypochlorite. All are effective in water disinfection. Chlorine dosage is controlled to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms without exceeding safe limits for human consumption, aiming to avoid the use of excessive chlorine that can generate undesirable by-products. Measurement was carried out using DPD reagent to determine the concentration of free chlorine in the water. Aim: This work aims to facilitate the adjustment of chlorine dosage in water treatment, to reduce additional corrections. Methods: The Hach method 8021 was used to adjust chlorine dosage based on measurements of the interval between dosing pump pulsations and observed chlorine concentration. The concentration was adjusted from 1.68 mg/L to 1.20 mg/L. Additionally, the appropriate time for correct chlorine reading was determined, and the time needed for the corrected chlorine quantity to be observable in the system, adhering to the minimum limits set by legislation, was verified. Results: The adjustment of the initial chlorine concentration (1.66 mg/L) was carried out using the Hach method 8021, resulting in a stable concentration of approximately 1.19 mg/L. The desired dosage was 1.20 mg/L. The time required for correct chlorine measurement and observation of the corrected value was approximately 40 minutes. The use of the script allowed achieving a result 99.2% close to the planned value with just one adjustment. Discussion: The proper use of chlorine in water treatment is essential to ensure the safety and quality of supply. This research emphasized the need for careful monitoring of chlorine dosage, requiring time and accurate analysis of representative samples. The application of the developed script brought significant benefits, ensuring satisfactory disinfection and preventing overdosing issues. The results showed high efficacy and time savings, enhancing treatment efficiency and economic advantages. Moreover, the script reduced paper usage in calculations, promoting environmental sustainability. Conclusions: The script for adjusting the chlorine dosage used in water treatment made the operation more practical and efficient, with a user-friendly interface and accurate results achieved faster.

The mixed-order chlorine decay model with an analytical solution and corresponding trihalomethane generation model in drinking water

Ensuring effective drinking water disinfection, remaining a certain amount of residual chlorine, and controlling disinfection by-product formation were very important for guarantying water quality safety and protecting public health; thus, the chlorine decay model and corresponding disinfection by-product formation model were necessary. This paper proposed a mixed-order chlorine bulk decay model (two parameters) based on Taylor's formula and derived its analytical solution. The accuracy of the mixed-order model was evaluated by comparing it with the nth-order model. To optimize the model and reduce the number of parameters required to be calibrated, the relationship of parameters with temperature, initial chlorine concentration, TOC and inorganic substance (ammonia nitrogen and iodide ion) was explored. The result proved that one of the parameters could be regarded as temperature dependent only. Meanwhile, the temperature equation of the model parameters was established by the Arrhenius formula. Subsequently, this paper selected trihalomethane as the target and study the linear relationship between chlorine consumption and trihalomethane formation. The results indicated that the liner slope had little correlation with initial chlorine concentration and temperature. On this basis, the corresponding trihalomethane model was built and its performance was proven to be good. The modeling developed in this work could be applied to drinking water distribution systems for residual chlorine and trihalomethane prediction, and provided a reference for the decision involving water quality.

Radicals ([rad]OH, Cl[rad], ClO[rad] and Cl2[rad]−) concentration profiles in the intensified degradation of reactive green 12 by UV/chlorine process: Chemical kinetic analysis using a validated model

Understanding the production of reactive species in chlorine photolysis is critical for applying advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) in future. This paper developed a chemical kinetic model consisting of 66 chemical reactions, including many radicals and non-radical intermediates/products, to elucidate the intensified removal of reactive green 12 (RG12) dye by UV/chlorine AOP. The generated kinetic model fits our experimental data satisfactorily across a broad range of solution pH and initial chlorine concentration. The simulation process was accomplished by COPASI® software coupled with the deterministic Nelder-Mead optimization method for determining some unavailable rate constants, including the reaction of RG12 with OH (k = 1.2 × 1010 M−1 s−1), Cl (k = 2.1 × 109 M−1 s−1), Cl2− (k = 1.26 × 107 M−1 s−1) and ClO (k = 6.12 × 104 M−1 s−1). As well, the first-order rate constants of chlorine photolysis, HOCl + hv → OH + Cl and OCl− + hv → O− + Cl, were respectively (0.81–6.90) × 10−3 s−1 and (0.87–8.29) × 10−3 s−1, depending on the solution pH and chlorine dosage. The radicals concentration (and RG12 degradation rate) increased with the increase of initial chlorine dosage, whereas a solution pH of 5 is recorded for the best process efficiency (i.e., radicals’ yield and dye destruction rate). Even though the steady-state concentration of ClO (∼10−8 M) and Cl2− (∼10−11 M) are highest compared to OH (∼10−12 M) and Cl (∼10−12 M), the selectivity analysis results showed that OH radicals contributed majorly in the degradation (∼85 %) for the different investigated scenarios of pH and initial chlorine concentration. The remaining portion (∼15 %) is ensured by Cl and ClO nearly equitably. These findings were attributed to the high reactivity of RG12 toward OH rather than reactive chlorine radicals, as reflected by the initial rates of the different RG12-degradation by-products.

Chlorine Removal from Water by Biochar Derived from Various Food Waste Natural Materials

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of pyrolyzed low-cost food waste natural materials from the food industry on the removal of chlorine from water. Biochar was produced after pyrolysis at 850 oC from malt spent rootlets (MSR), walnut shells, and apricot, olive, carob and grape kernels. The biochars were characterized for their surface area, microporosity, functional groups and pH. Continuous flow column experiments were conducted at varying flow rates to evaluate the efficiency of biochars to remove free and total chlorine. The initial free and total chlorine concentrations in water fed to the columns were 2.0 and 2.2 mg/L, respectively. The chlorine removal of free and total chlorine of all materials tested ranged from 76 to 92% and 80 to 95%, respectively, with the MSR exhibiting the highest removal. MSR biochar was subjected to the highest cumulative water volume passed through the column (162 L/g) and exhibited the highest total chlorine removal capacity (6 to 330 mg/g). Olive kernel also reached high chlorine removal (99%), while apricot kernel, grape kernel, carob seed and pulp presented poor chlorine removals.

Degradation of sulfamethoxazole by chlorination in water distribution systems: Kinetics, toxicity, and antibiotic resistance genes

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is one of veterinary drugs and food additives, which has been frequently detected in surface waters in recent years and will cause damage to organisms. Therefore, SMX was selected as a target to be investigated, including the degradation kinetics, evolution of toxicity, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) of SMX during chlorination in batch reactors and water distribution systems (WDS), to determine the optimal factors for removing SMX. In the range of investigated pH (6.3-9.0), the SMX degradation had the fastest rate at close to neutral pH. The chlorination of SMX was affected by the initial total free chlorine concentration, and the degradation of SMX was consistent with second-order kinetics. The rate constants in batch reactors are (2.23 ± 0.07) × 102 M-1 s-1 and (5.04 ± 0.30) × 10M-1 s-1 for HClO and ClO-1 , respectively. Moreover, the rate constants in WDS are (1.76 ± 0.07) × 102 M-1 s-1 and (4.06 ± 0.62) × 10M-1 s-1 , respectively. The degradation rate of SMX was also affected by pipe material, and the rate followed the following order: stainless-steel pipe (SS) > ductile iron pipe (DI) > polyethylene pipe (PE). The degradation rate of SMX in the DI increased with increasing flow rate, but the increase was limited. In addition, SMX could increase the toxicity of water initially, yet the toxicity reduced to the level of tap water after 2-h chlorination. And the relative abundance of ARGs (sul1 and sul2) of tap water samples was significantly increased under different chlorination conditions. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The degradation rate of SMX in batch reactor and WDS is different, and they could be described by first- or second-order kinetics. The degradation of SMX had the fastest rate at neutral pH. The degradation rate of SMX was also affected by pipe material and flow velocity. SMX increased the toxicity of water initially, yet the toxicity reduced after a 2-h chlorination. SMX increased the relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes sul1 and sul2.

Catalytic oxidation of methylene blue by using Ni-Fe bimetallic catalyst/NaClO system: Performance, kinetics, mechanism, and DFT calculations

Nickel-iron bimetallic catalysts (Ni-Fe/Al2O3) with activated alumina as the carrier were prepared by impregnation pyrolysis, and the structure and morphology of the catalysts were analyzed by characterization via X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, programmed temperature rise reduction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The prepared Ni-Fe/Al2O3 was used to catalyze sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for oxidative degradation of methylene blue (MB). The effects of the dosage of iron nitrate in the preparation process and the catalyst dosage, effective chlorine concentration, pH, temperature, initial MB concentration, and coexisting ions on the MB removal effect in the oxidative degradation experiment were investigated. Then, the oxidative degradation mechanism and practical application prospects of the system were examined. Results showed that the Ni and Fe nitrate mass ratio of 5:1 was favorable for the dispersion of Ni elements in the catalyst preparation process. When the temperature was 45 °C, the initial concentration of MB was 50 mg/L, the dosage of Ni-Fe/Al2O3 was 20 g/L, the initial effective chlorine concentration was 1.76%, and the initial pH was 4.0. The removal rate of MB could reach 98.98% within 40 min, and the degradation process was in accordance with quasi primary kinetics, with reaction rate constant of 0.0873 min−1. The experimental result of free radical quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance indicated that the addition of Ni-Fe/Al2O3 induced the decomposition of NaClO to produce a large amount of singlet oxygen (1O2), 1O2 and HOCl worked together to oxidatively degrade MB. Ni3+/Ni2+ redox cycles play an important role in activating HOCl to produce active species. The common inorganic anions (Cl−, NO3−, and SO42−) did not inhibit the removal of MB significantly, whereas humic acid showed a more significant inhibitory effect only at concentrations greater than 20 mg/L. In the five recycling experiments, the catalysts showed low metal leaching rate and high MB removal rate. Ni-Fe/Al2O3 was reusable, and it showed excellent application potential.

Impact of initial chlorine concentration on water quality change in old unlined iron pipes

Unlined iron pipe (UIP) is still widely in use in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS), discoloration easily happens after a long-time retention due to iron release, but the influence of initial chlorine on water quality under this condition is not clear. Here, we studied the water quality changes in UIP section reactors under different initial chlorine dosages. Results showed that chlorine could disappeared rapidly within 0.5 h in the UIP. The water with higher initial chlorine (5 mg/L) had higher turbidity in a short time (within 1.5 h), but for a longer retention time (2∼12 h), the highest turbidity was in the iron pipe without initial chlorine. Interestingly, a clear increase in adenosine triphosphate in the UIPs was observed with the increase of initial chlorine, which was in accordance with the results of heterotrophic plate count. Polysaccharide and protein increased with the increase of initial chlorine, which would benefit the formation of a protective layer to inhibit corrosion. This study reflects that during the overnight retention in UIP, raising chlorine would be effective to control discoloration, but chemical and microbiological risks may increase.

Reactive Blue 19 dye removal by UV-LED/chlorine advanced oxidation process.

In recent years, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have indicated the greatest potential in the removal of stable organic compounds, including dyes. In this study, the ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) combined with chlorine was evaluated to remove Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) dye from aqueous solution. The effect of key experimental parameters including pH, initial chlorine concentration, initial dye concentration, and reaction time on the performance of UV-LED irradiation, UV-LED/chlorine, and the chlorination method for the removal of RB19 was studied in this research. Results showed that, more than 99% of RB19 was removed after 30 min of reaction time under optimized conditions (pH = 5, [chlorine] = 300 μM, and [RB19] = 20 mg L-1) with apparent kinetic rate constant (kapp) of 17.1 × 10-2 min-1 in UV-LED/chlorine process. However, for the chlorination method, removal efficiency was 64.7% (kapp = 3.41 × 10-2 min-1) with an apparent kinetic rate constant of 0.0341 min-1. Results also showed that UV-LED irradiation is not effective at all in removing RB19. The scavenging assay showed that OH• radicals (67.23%) had the highest contribution in RB19 removal in UV-LED/chlorine process while Cl• (17.82%) and [Formula: see text] (8.56%) had a minor role in the degradation of the dye. The RB19 degradation kinetics analysis revealed that the processes of UV-LED/chlorine and chlorination degradation followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. In this study, the impact of chloride, nitrate, bicarbonate, carbonate, sulfate, and sulfite anions on the performance of the process was investigated. It indicated that sulfite anion has the most negative impact on the RB19 removal process. By evaluating the synergistic effect between UV-LED lamp and chlorine, a synergy index of 5.0 was obtained for the UV-LED/chlorine process. The results presented that the UV-LED/chlorine process has a better performance than each of them alone and has the necessary efficiency for RB19 removal. Measuring COD reported its removal efficiency of 98% during the UV-LED/chlorine process under optimized conditions. Experiments continued with textile factory wastewater and indicated 30.9% of its COD removed after treatment when 1.0 μM chlorine was used.

Efficacy of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) fog in sanitizing surfaces against Enterococcus faecalis

Fogging is an efficient method when disinfection of large areas is desired. Two methods of ultrasonic fogging, pulsed and continuous, were compared on bacteria dried on either aluminum or polystyrene surfaces. We characterized commercial and home-made hypochlorous acid (HOCl) with respect to storage and means of production. We found that the initial chlorine concentration of the commercial solution was approximately 550 ppm, and when stored open under ambient conditions, the chlorine content decreased at a rate of 30% every 100 days. The HOCl produced using the home synthesizers had a maximum chlorine content of 257.6 ppm which decayed by 65% after 100 days. A second synthesizer produced a liquid with high chlorine content and pH, 750ppm and pH = 8.55. The anti-bacterial efficacy was probed using Enterococcus faecalis, a persistent source of infection in public and clinical spaces. Time course studies determined that E. faecalis could survive dry on surfaces for more than 12 weeks, but was easily eliminated in half the fogging time. The most effective mode of application was determined to be continuous fogging where a 6.59 log reduction was established in vertical geometry. The optimal pulsed fogging protocol produced a similar reduction, but required nearly 5 times as long. The home synthesized versions yielded much lower log bacterial reductions. No significant differences in outcome were determined between polymer or metal surfaces.

Impact of pipe material on the wall reaction coefficients and its application in the rehabilitation of water supply system of San Pedro Nexapa, State of Mexico

Abstract One of the major challenges faced by water companies around the world is the high level of chlorine losses in distribution networks. This paper presents an experimental study to examine chlorine loss in different types of pipe materials and select the ones with low chlorine demand for the rehabilitation of the water distribution network of San Pedro Nexapa, State of Mexico. The materials investigated include: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), galvanized steel (GS), polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). A 24-h chlorine consumption study was performed in a simulated water distribution network to assess the impact of wall reaction coefficient on chlorine decay. Four sets of independent pipe loops of 50 mm in diameter and 12 m in length were used. Two different scenarios were considered based on different initial chlorine concentration (1.21 mg/L and 1.60 mg/L). Samples were collected at each loop at two-hour intervals and physicochemical analyses were conducted. Results from the experimental distribution network showed that the wall coefficient values for GS, HDPE, PP and PVC were 0.165 h−1, 0.059 h−1, 0.043 h−1 and 0.026 h−1, respectively. Experimental results showed that wall reaction coefficient values depend on initial chlorine concentration and the characteristics of pipe material. The rate of free chlorine decay was found to be faster in steel pipe and slower in the plastic pipes. Based on its having the lowest chlorine demand compared with the other pipes, PVC pipe would be selected to rehabilitate Nexapa water distribution network, State of Mexico. The wall coefficients from the experimental study were incorporated into EPANET through four simulation runs to predict chorine decay of San Pedro Nexapa water distribution network, State of Mexico. In the PVC and PP pipes higher residual chlorine concentrations were observed that ranged from 0.30 to 0.90 mg/L and 0.50 to 0.95 mg/L, respectively. This study is important for utilities to operate their system effectively and protect public health.

Regrowth of Escherichia coli in environmental waters after chlorine disinfection: shifts in viability and culturability.

Bacterial regrowth after water/wastewater disinfection poses severe risks to public health. However, regrowth studies under realistic water conditions that might critically affect bacterial regrowth are scarce. This study aimed to assess for the first time the regrowth of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in terms of its viability and culturability in environmental waters after chlorine disinfection, which is the most widely used disinfection method. Post-chlorination regrowth tests were conducted in 1) standard 0.85% NaCl solution, 2) river water receiving domestic wastewater effluents, and 3) river water that is fully recharged by domestic wastewater effluents. The multiplex detection of plate count and fluorescence-based viability test was adopted to quantify the culturable and viable E. coli to monitor the regrowth process. The results confirmed that chlorine treatment (0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg L-1 initial free chlorine) induced more than 99.95% of E. coli to enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state and the reactivation of VBNC E. coli is presumably the major process of the regrowth. A second-order regrowth model well described the temporal shift of the survival ratio of culturable E. coli after the chlorination (R2: 0.73-1.00). The model application also revealed that the increase in initial chlorine concentration and chlorine dose limited the maximum regrowth rate and the maximum survival ratio, and the regrowth rate and percentage also changed with the water type. This study gives a better understanding of the potential regrowth after chlorine disinfection and highlights the need for investigating the detailed relation of the regrowth to environmental conditions such as major components of water matrices.

Modeling and elucidation the effects of iron deposits on chlorine decay and trihalomethane formation in drinking water distribution system

Iron deposits stimulate chlorine consumption and trihalomethane (THM) formation in drinking water distribution systems through distinct mechanisms. In this study, a second-order chlorine decay model with a variable reaction-rate coefficient was developed to quantitatively evaluate the influences of iron deposits on chlorine reactions by considering the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM), the type and dosages of deposits, as well as the initial chlorine concentrations. Based on a reliable prediction of residual chlorine, the concept that THM formation had a linear relationship with chlorine consumption was further validated by chlorination of DOM in the presence of iron deposits. Due to the catalysis influences, the reactivity of DOM towards chlorine decay or THM formation was accelerated. Although iron deposits activated the reactivity of DOM with bromine and chlorine, THM slightly shifted toward chlorinated species. Due to the adsorption influences, the maximum chlorine demand increased with the increasing deposit dosages whereas the extent of enhancement mainly relied on the DOM properties. Low-molecular-weight DOM with a hydrophilic characteristic was prone to be elevated by iron deposits. Based on the model simulation, approximately 20% of chlorine consumption and 37% of THM formation were contributed by deposits after 168 h reaction. The data provided herein emphasize the role of iron deposits in chlorine consumption and THM formation, which assist the water quality management in drinking water distribution systems.

Chlorine inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in fresh produce wash process: Effectiveness and modeling

Inactivation rate constant or inactivation coefficient (specific lethality) quantifies the rate at which a chemical sanitizer inactivates a microorganism. This study presents a modified disinfection kinetics model to evaluate the potential effect of organic content on the chlorine inactivation coefficient of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in fresh produce wash processes. Results show a significant decrease in the bactericidal efficacy of free chlorine (FC) in the presence of organic load compared to its absence. While the chlorine inactivation coefficient of Escherichia coli O157:H7 is 70.39 ± 3.19 L/mg/min in the absence of organic content, it drops by 73% for a chemical oxygen demand (COD) level of 600–800 mg/L. Results also indicate that the initial chlorine concentration and bacterial load have no effect on the chlorine inactivation coefficient. A second-order chemical reaction model for FC decay, which utilizes a proportion of COD as an indicator of organic content in fresh produce wash was employed, yielding an apparent reaction rate of (9.45 ± 0.22) × 10−4 /μM/min. This model was validated by predicting FC concentration in multi-run continuous wash cycles with periodic replenishment of chlorine.

A variable parabolic reaction coefficient model for chlorine decay in bulk water

The first-order model is the most widely utilized model for chlorine decay due to its having only one parameter and an analytical solution. While variable reaction coefficient type models have higher accuracy and wider application range, their widespread uses are hindered by their complexity and the non-existence of an analytical solution. The objective of this study was to develop a variable parabolic reaction coefficient model to simulate and predict chlorine decay in bulk water. The decreasing reactivity of the reacting agents is included in a variable coefficient, which decreases with increasing consumption of the chlorine-reactive species concentration. The model includes minimal parameters that must be calculated, and an analytical solution was derived. Experimental data, including chlorination with different initial chlorine concentrations or temperatures, rechlorination, and water mixing, were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of the variable parabolic reaction coefficient model under different conditions. The relationship between the parameters and temperature was established utilizing the Arrhenius equation. On the basis of assumptions that the chlorine consumed by reactions with the pipe wall does not decrease the variable rate coefficient, this study subtracted the instantaneous aggregate chlorine wall consumption from the total chlorine consumption, so that the parameter values in the VPRC model (derived from laboratory decay tests) can be used in the system model. For output water at the entrance of the WDN with unknown initial chlorine concentration and unknown decay duration from disinfection to entry into the water distribution network, an effective method to determine the model parameter is proposed.