Drinking water biofilm development is affected by the available nutrient levels and the presence of disinfectants. Phosphorus is recognized as another important limiting nutrient besides organic carbon. In this study, drinking water biofilms were developed in annular reactors to examine the effects of phosphorus on the biofilm disinfections with free chlorine and monochloramine. Phosphorus addition was found to increase the biofilm cell number but decrease the exopolysaccharides (EPS) production. The disinfection efficacies of both free chlorine and monochloramine were increased when phosphorus was added into the reactor systems. At the same disinfection dosages, monochloramine showed greater biofilm removal efficiency than free chlorine. Monochloramine could be a better choice than free chlorine in biofilm disinfection when phosphate-based corrosion inhibitors are applied.
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Research Article|
December 04 2009
Effects of phosphorus on biofilm disinfections in model drinking water distribution systems
Wei Fang;
Wei Fang
1Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore
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Jiangyong Hu;
2Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore
Tel.: +65 6516 4540 Fax: +65 6774 4202; E-mail: [email protected]
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Say Leong Ong
Say Leong Ong
2Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore
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J Water Health (2010) 8 (3): 446–454.
Article history
Received:
July 11 2009
Accepted:
October 13 2009
Citation
Wei Fang, Jiangyong Hu, Say Leong Ong; Effects of phosphorus on biofilm disinfections in model drinking water distribution systems. J Water Health 1 September 2010; 8 (3): 446–454. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2009.303
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