To minimise the formation of chlorination by-products (CBPs) it is imperative that attention is directed towards the structure and occurrence of natural organic matter (NOM) in raw water sources, and its flow and fate during water treatment processes. In this study, an assessment of the characteristics and flow of NOM along the treatment train at the full scale treatment plant at Masaka, Uganda, was made. Results indicated that 79% of the NOM, determined as total organic carbon, was in the dissolved form (DOC) with 83% of the DOC being hydrophilic in character. The insignificant amount of hydrophobic fraction in the raw water implies that the contributing fraction to THMs formation was mainly the hydrophilic component which subsequently was poorly removed along all units except clarification. The treated water from all unit processes provided specific ultraviolet absorbance values greater than 2 L/mg-m at 254 nm wavelength, indicating that it still had a high potential of reacting with chlorine to form CBPs. This renders water from Nabajjuzi River as unsuitable for chlorination in early stages of treatment and necessitating modification of the processes to reduce or avoid formation of unwanted by-products.
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December 2011
This article was originally published in
Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua
Article Contents
Research Article|
December 01 2011
Characteristics of natural organic matter and formation of chlorination by-products at Masaka waterworks
H. M. Kalibbala;
1Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Design, Art & Technology, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
E-mail: [email protected]
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Rose Kaggwa;
Rose Kaggwa
2External Services, National Water & Sewerage Corporation, P.O. Box 7053, Kampala, Uganda
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O. Wahlberg;
O. Wahlberg
3Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Teknikringen 30, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
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E. Plaza
E. Plaza
4Department of Land & Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Teknikringen 30, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
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Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2011) 60 (8): 511–519.
Article history
Received:
November 01 2010
Accepted:
September 28 2011
Citation
H. M. Kalibbala, Rose Kaggwa, O. Wahlberg, E. Plaza; Characteristics of natural organic matter and formation of chlorination by-products at Masaka waterworks. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 December 2011; 60 (8): 511–519. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2011.076
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