Use of activated carbon from oily fly ash to remove disinfectant by-products from drinking-water supply systems in small communities

Water utility managers face numerous obstacles in protecting drinking-water supplies from water-borne diseases. To supply safe drinking water, chlorine is the most common oxidant and disinfectant used to eradicate and inactivate the pathogens that cause such diseases. Chlorine oxidizes iron and manganese; it also removes odour and colour and prevents biological re-growth in water distribution systems. Due to these characteristics and its relatively low cost, more than 90% of the world’s water supply systems use chlorine. This disinfectant in residual form, however, reacts with the natural organic matter (NOM) present in the water, forming disinfection by-products (DBPs) in these systems.