Cometabolism of trihalomethanes by mixed culture nitrifiers

Three mixed-culture nitrifier sources degraded low concentrations (25-450 microg/L) of four trihalomethanes (THMs) (trichloromethane (TCM) or chloroform, bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), tribromomethane (TBM) or bromoform) commonly found in treated drinking water. Individual THM rate constants (k1THM) increased with increasing THM bromine-substitution with TBM>DBCM>BDCM>TCM and were comparable to previous studies with the pure culture nitrifier, Nitrosomonas europaea. A decrease in temperature resulted in a decrease in both ammonia and THM degradation rates with ammonia rates affected to a greater extent than THM degradation rates. The significant effect of temperature indicates that seasonal variations in water temperature should be a consideration for technology implementation. Product toxicity, measured by transformation capacity (T(c)), was similar to that observed with N. europaea. Because both rate constants and product toxicities increase with increasing THM bromine-substitution, a water's THM speciation is an important consideration for process implementation during drinking water treatment. Even though a given water is kinetically favored, the resulting THM product toxicity may not allow stable treatment process performance.     

Haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes in finished drinking waters from heterogeneous sources

Trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids (HAA) are the most frequent chlorination by-products (CBP) in finished drinking waters. Traditionally, THM have been used as surrogates for CBP although the quantitative association between THM and other CBP is not well established. This problem is addressed in the present study from the analysis of THM and HAA in drinking water samples from four Spanish regions, representing areas with very different CBP composition, e.g. between 86 and 8.0 microg/l of THM and 50-3.0 microg/l of HAA.The resulting dataset exhibit a statistically significant correlation between total THM and HAA (Pearson's correlation coefficient, r(p)=0.815,p<0.0005). Furthermore, specific HAA are highly correlated with specific THM or their combinations. Accordingly, multivariate linear regression analysis of the concentrations observed show that the levels in total and specific HAA can be predicted from the THM content. These results are relevant for epidemiological studies on health effects from CBP exposure since they usually involve comparison of populations consuming waters of very distinct quality.     

顺序氯化消毒控制卫生学指标的效果

开发了一种短时游离氯消毒后加氨转化为氯胺的顺序氯化消毒工艺,该工艺可充分利用游离氯灭活微生物迅速彻底、氯胺生成消毒副产物少的优势,安全经济地实现对微生物指标的双重控制。在天津市某水厂的中试表明,该消毒工艺对细菌总数、总大肠菌群的控制效果略好于单纯游离氯消毒,说明游离氯和氯胺可能因为攻击位点不同而存在一定程度的协同效应。     

腐殖酸特性及其对三卤甲烷形成的影响

以提取腐殖酸和商品腐殖酸为对象,研究了不同腐殖酸对加氯消毒后三卤甲烷生成量的影响,并对腐殖酸特性进行了分析。结果表明,伊春腐殖酸比松花江腐殖酸和商品腐殖酸具有更高的三卤甲烷生成量、生成速度和更高的卤代活性。松花江腐殖酸和商品腐殖酸中的芳香结构、不饱和双键的分子较少,分子质量较大,而伊春腐殖酸中芳香结构和不饱和双键的分子较多,分子质量较低。小分子质量和含不饱和双键的有机物通常是消毒副产物的主要前体物,因而伊春腐殖酸加氯消毒后的三卤甲烷生成量比松花江腐殖酸和商品腐殖酸高。     

Breakpoint chlorination and free-chlorine contact time: implications for drinking water N-nitrosodimethylamine concentrations

North American drinking water utilities are increasingly incorporating alternative disinfectants, such as chloramines, in order to comply with disinfection by-product (DBP) regulations. N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a non-halogenated DBP, associated with chloramination, having a drinking water unit risk two to three orders of magnitude greater than currently regulated halogenated DBPs. We quantified NDMA from two full-scale chloraminating water treatment plants in Alberta between 2003 and 2005 as well as conducted bench-scale chloramination/breakpoint experiments to assess NDMA formation. Distribution system NDMA concentrations varied and tended to increase with increasing distribution residence time. Bench-scale disinfection experiments resulted in peak NDMA production near the theoretical monochloramine maximum in the sub-breakpoint region of the disinfection curve. Breakpoints for the raw and partially treated waters tested ranged from 1.9:1 to 2.4:1 (Cl(2):total NH(3)-N, M:M). Bench-scale experiments with free-chlorine contact (2h) before chloramination resulted in significant reductions in NDMA formation (up to 93%) compared to no free-chlorine contact time. Risk-tradeoff issues involving alternative disinfection methods and unregulated DBPs, such as NDMA, are emerging as a major water quality and public health information gap.     

Effects of primary sludge particulate (PSP) entrapment on ultrasonic (20 kHz) disinfection of Escherichia coli

The role of primary sludge particulates (PSPs) in ultrasonic disinfection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was investigated. Entrapment of E. coli by PSP was directly observed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) after E. coli and PSP were incubated together in water for 24 h at 35 °C. Entrapment coefficient was proposed for the first time to reflect the ability of PSP to entrap E. coli and was estimated as 1.4 × 10³ CFU/mg PSP under our experimental conditions. Ultrasonication (20 kHz) of different E. coli-PSPs solutions showed that the entrapped E. coli cells were protected by PSP from ultrasonication and the unentrapped cells were not. However, the protection of entrapped E. coli cells gradually decreased as ultrasonication proceeded, suggesting the ability of power ultrasonication to deprotect the entrapped E. coli cells. SEM studies suggested a two-step mechanism for ultrasonic (20 kHz) disinfection of entrapped E. coli: breakdown of the protective PSP refugia and disinfection of the exposed E. coli cells. This research will enable more informed decisions about disinfection of aqueous samples where porous PSP are present.     

武汉市医院污水处理现状调查分析

采用现场调查和实验室检测相结合的方法探讨了武汉市医院污水处理的现状和存在的问题。在所调查的50家医院中，共有46家医院具有污水处理设施，仅约50％受调查的医院污水处理出水水质符合国家排放标准，约1／4医院的污水处理在运行和管理上还存在不少问题，设备老化或经常停用，微生物学指标等未达国家规定的排放标准，存在传播疾病的隐患。     

Occurrence of nine nitrosamines and secondary amines in source water and drinking water: Potential of secondary amines as nitrosamine precursors

Due to their high carcinogenicity, the control of nitrosamines, a group of disinfection by-products (DBPs), is an important issue for drinking water supplies. In this study, a method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was improved for simultaneously analyzing nine nitrosamines in source water and finished water samples of twelve drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in China. The method detection limits of the nine target analytes were 0.2-0.9 ng/L for the source water samples and 0.1-0.7 ng/L for the finished water samples. Of the nine nitrosamines, six (N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosomorpholine (NMor), N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), and N-nitrosodiphenylamine (NDPhA)) were detected. The total nitrosamine concentrations in source water and finished water samples were no detection-42.4 ng/L and no detection-26.3 ng/L, respectively, and NDMA (no detection-13.9 ng/L and no detection-20.5 ng/L, respectively) and NDEA (no detection-16.3 ng/L and no detection-14.0 ng/L, respectively) were the most abundant. Meanwhile, the occurrence of nine secondary amines corresponding to the nine nitrosamines was also investigated. All of them except for di-n-propylamine were detected in some source water and finished water samples, and dimethylamine (no detection-3.9 μg/L and no detection-4.0 μg/L, respectively) and diethylamine (no detection-2.4 μg/L and no detection-1.8 μg/L, respectively) were the most abundant ones. Controlled experiments involving chloramination of four secondary amines confirmed that dimethylamine, diethylamine, morpholine and di-n-butylamine in water can form the corresponding nitrosamines, with diethylamine and morpholine showing significantly higher yields than dimethylamine which has already been identified as a precursor of NDMA. This study proved that diethylamine, morpholine and di-n-butylamine detected in raw water would be one of the important the precursors of NDEA, NMOR and NDBA, respectively, in drinking water.     

Inactivation of particle-associated viral surrogates by ultraviolet light

This study investigated whether colloid-sized particles can enmesh and protect viruses from 254-nm ultraviolet (UV) light and sought to determine the particle characteristics (e.g. size, chemical composition) that are most relevant in causing a protective effect. Two viral surrogates (MS2 coliphage and bacteriophage T4), three types of particles (kaolin clay, humic acid powder, and activated sludge), two coagulants (alum and ferric chloride), two filtration conditions (none and 0.45 microm), and two UV doses (40 and 80 mJ/cm2 for MS2 coliphage; 2 and 7 mJ/cm2 for bacteriophage T4) were considered in a series of bench-scale UV collimated beam experiments. Transmission electron microscopy was used to qualitatively confirm the phage particle-association after coagulation. Humic acid and activated sludge floc particles shielded both viral surrogates to a statistically significant degree (with >99% confidence) relative to particle-free control conditions, while the kaolin clay particles provided no significant protection. The results of the study suggest that particles <2 microm in diameter are large enough to protect viruses from UV light and that particulate chemical composition (e.g. UV-absorbing organic content) may be a critical factor in the survival of particle-associated viruses during UV disinfection.     

浅谈饮用水消毒中常用的几种方法

对饮用水消毒中常用的几种方法进行了介绍，对这几种方法进行了比较，认为在目前国内的饮用水消毒处理中次氯酸钠发生器消毒是比较好的一种，而紫外线消毒法是今后可能取代传统的化学消毒法并且具有广阔应用前景的一种绿色环保高效的消毒方法。