Hydrophobicity and Molecular Size Distribution of Unknown TOX in Drinking Water
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 3
Abstract
The analysis of total organic halogen (TOX) in drinking water indicates that a substantial amount of the halogenated compounds cannot be accounted for by known specific disinfection by-products (DBPs). The primary aim of this research was to characterize the hydrophobicity and molecular size distribution of the unknown halogenated DBPs using XAD resins and ultrafiltration membranes. The impact of membrane rejection on the size analysis of unknown TOX was also investigated using chlorinated fulvic acid. Six finished waters from different locations and treatment processes were collected and fractionated into various hydrophobicity and molecular size groups. The results showed that most unknown TOX was in the size range between and , but it could have a wide spectrum of hydrophobicities. Simple ultrafiltration was not always reliable as a characterization tool, as it was shown to reject a significant fraction of DBPs with molecular weight (MW) lower than the membrane cutoffs. Flushing with deionized water was effective in removing these low MW compounds from the ultrafiltration cell. A significant reduction in the apparent size of unknown TOX resulted when low MW DBPs were flushed out of the cell (comparing with classic parallel ultrafiltration). Coagulation of fulvic acid also significantly reduced the apparent size of unknown TOX formed by chlorine.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by AwwaRF through Project No. 2755. The writers thank the project officer Djanette Khiari from AwwaRF. The writers also gratefully acknowledge the assistance from participating water utilities in sample collection.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 3 • March 2008
Pages: 152 - 160
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 15, 2006
Accepted: Jul 13, 2007
Published online: Mar 1, 2008
Published in print: Mar 2008
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