Chloramination is popular in drinking water treatment because it can provide microbial control
but unlike chlorination it results in much less formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) such
as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Unfortunately, nitrification in
drinking water distribution systems is a widespread issue when chloramination is employed as a
residual disinfection process. Nitrification is undesirable because the disinfectant residual can be
lost and re-growth of bacteria may occur. Nitrification is a well understood process where
ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) oxidize ammonia into nitrite (NO<sub>2</sub>
<sup>-</sup>), which is then converted
to nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub>
<sup>-</sup>) by nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Recent research has shown that AOB are
able to biodegrade THMs through an enzymatic process known as cometabolism. The
cometabolism byproducts are highly reactive substances thought to be capable of either
damaging or killing AOB. The objective of this research is to determine whether THMs play a significant
role in preventing water distribution system nitrification. Includes 11 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1.4 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 56 |
| Published : | 06/01/2007 |
