Effect of Medium Pressure Ultraviolet/Chlorine Advanced Oxidation on the Production of Disinfection by-Products from Seven Model Benzene Precursors

Abstract

Highlights: MPUV/chlorine increased the chlorine demand and DBPFP of benzoic acid and nitrobenzene. MPUV/chlorine showed no further activation on active DBP precursors. MPUV/chlorine at pH 6 showed greater impact on precursors’ DBPFP than at pH 8. MPUV/chlorine increased the BSF of THMs in the presence of bromine. Linear correlation was observed between changes in precursors’ chlorine demand and DBPFP. UV/chlorine advanced oxidation process (AOP), as a potential alternative to UV/H2O2 in water treatment, may pose a potential risk of increased disinfection by-product (DBP) formation and is of great concern. In this paper, seven benzene derivatives, containing two chlorine-inert and five chlorine-active compounds, were selected as typical model DBP precursors, and the effects of medium pressure UV/chlorine (MPUV/chlorine) on their chlorine demand and DBP formation potential (DBPFP) were evaluated. The results showed that MPUV/chlorine could significantly increase the chlorine demand and DBPFP of the two inert precursors. For the four slow but active DBP precursors, MPUV/chlorine may accelerate their short-term DBP formation, whereas it showed an insignificant effect or even reduced their chlorine demand and DBPFP. For the only fast and active DBP precursor, MPUV/chlorine showed an insignificant effect on its short-term DBP formation or DBPFP. The overall effect of MPUV/chlorine was more significant at pH 6 than at pH 8. In the presence of Br−, MPUV/chlorine significantly increased the bromine substitution factors of THMs. In addition, linear fitting results indicated that the UV/chlorine-induced change in overall chlorine demand may be considered as a potential indicator for the prediction of DBPFP alteration.