Exploring toxicity and byproducts formed when using UV-chlorine advanced oxidation for drinking and reuse waters

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Water treatment using ultraviolet light coupled with an oxidant (a process called advanced oxidation) is gaining popularity among municipalities. While expensive, it offers a high degree of effectiveness in situations where more conventional treatment is not sufficient. Examples include the treatment of wastewaters for direct conversion to drinking water, or the treatment of drinking waters that contain contaminants that are resistant to other forms of oxidation, such as algal byproducts that can be toxic or cause unpleasant tastes and odours. This is a 2 year project that explores a novel form of advanced oxidation process: the photolysis of chlorine by UV light. UV/chlorine has been demonstrated to be very effective, but information about the formation of possible undesirable byproducts is almost completely lacking. Regulators and utilities will require this information before they are willing to widely accept this new form of treatment. The project will identify specific byproducts that may form under a range of treatment conditions, and also employs screening tools to detect potential toxicity. The overall research hypothesis is that the formation of byproducts or toxicity when using UV/chlorine is no greater than when using traditional chlorination to disinfect drinking water. By using conventional drinking water as a benchmark, we can allow for UV/chlorine to form some measurable amount of byproducts or toxicity while still being able to determine in a relative sense whether it presents a risk that is likely greater than or less than tap water that is currently considered to be acceptable.