Advanced Oxidation Process for Haloacetic Acid Removal in Tehranpars Water Treatment Using CuO Nanocatalyst

Potentially harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs), as a significant challenge in water treatment, are formed when oxidizing disinfectants react with natural organic matters (NOM). Unfortunately, an  unwanted  side  effect  is  the  formation  of  harmful by-products,  such  as  THMs  and  HAAs, following the chlorination stage. DBPs  cause a variety of diseases like cancer in humans.  In this study, the Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) method was used to reduce HAA contamination in Tehranpars  Water  Treatment  Plant.  The  EPA  Method  552/2  was  used  for  detecting  HAA compounds  by  gas  chromatography  equipped  with  an  ECD  detector.  The  AOP  method  was performed  in  a  photoreactor  equipped  with  4  UV  lamps.  The  effects  of  UV  radiation,  the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, level of pH, reaction time, number of UV lamps, and amount of CuO nanocatalyst on the oxidation reaction of HAA were investigated. The results showed that the  annual  mean  levels  of  DCAA  and  TCAA  in  Tehranpars  tap  water  were  0.0526  and  0.232, respectively. The optimum level of CuO nanocatalyst in the AOP process was 0.625 with 99.79% removal  of  DCAA  and  99.22%  removal  of  TCAA.  The  removal  percentage  increased  with increasing treatment time, hydrogen peroxide level, and the number of the UV lamp at neutral and alkaline pH.