Factors affecting THMs, HAAs and HNMs formation of Jin Lan Reservoir water exposed to chlorine and monochloramine

The formations of THMs, HAAs, and HNMs from chlorination and chloramination of water from Jinlan Reservoir were investigated in this study. Results showed that monochloramine rather than chlorine generally resulted in lower concentration of DBPs, and the DBPs formation varied greatly as the treatment conditions changed. Specifically, the yields of THMs, HAAs and HNMs all increased with the high bromide level and high disinfectant dose both during chlorination and chloramination. The longer reaction time had a positive effect on the formation of THMs, HAAs and HNMs during chlorination and HNMs during chloramination. However, no time effect was observed on the formation of THMs and HAAs during chloramination. An increase in pH enhanced the levels of THMs and HNMs upon chlorination but reduced levels of HNMs upon chloramination. As for the THMs in chloramination and HAAs in chlorination and chloramination, no obvious pH effect was observed. The elevated temperature significantly increased the yields of THMs during chlorination and HNMs during chloramination, but has no effect on THMs and HAAs yields during chloramination. In the same temperature range, the formation of HAAs and HNMs in chlorination showed a first increasing and then a decreasing trend. In chloramination study, addition of nitrite markedly increased the formation of HNMs but had little impact on the formation of THMs and HAAs. While in chlorination study, the presence of high nitrite levels significantly reduced the yields of THMs, HAAs and HNMs. Range analysis revealed that the bromide and disinfectant levels were the major factors affecting THMs, HAAs and HNMs formation, in both chlorination and chloramination. Finally, comparisons of the speciation of mono-halogenated, di-halogenated, tri-halogenated HAAs and HNMs between chlorination and monochloramination were also conducted, and factors influencing the speciation pattern were identified.