Chlorination byproduct formation in the presence of humic acid, model nitrogenous organic compounds, ammonia, and bromide

Abstract

The formation of trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), and cyanogen halides (CNXs) after chlorination of synthetic solutions containing humic acid, nitrogenous organic (N-organic) compounds, ammonia, and bromide ions was studied. Humic acid (from Aldrich) was used to provide the source of the precursors. Glycine was chosen as the primary model N-organic compound and other four model N-organic compounds (including glutamic acid, glycylglycine, diethylamine, and methylamine) were also evaluated for comparison. The formation of THMs and HAAs was found to decrease with increasing glycine and ammonia concentrations but to increase with increasing bromide ion concentration. CNX formation was found to be highly sensitive to free chlorine to glycine ratios, and its formation trends were significantly affected bythe presence/absence of ammonia. The incorporation of bromine changed the byproducts speciation toward brominated species and enhanced the yields of total THMs, HAAs, and CNXs. Different model N-organic compounds exerted different effects on the formation of THMs, HAAs, and CNXs. Their effects on the formation of THMs and HAAs were likely dependent on their reactivity to chlorine in competing with the humic acid chlorination reactions. The difference in the CNCI yields was attributable to the variations in the compound structures.