An urban water cycle perspective of natural organic matter (NOM): NOM in drinking water, wastewater effluent, storm water, and seawater

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 701-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Baghoth ◽  
S. K. Maeng ◽  
S. G. Salinas Rodríguez ◽  
M. Ronteltap ◽  
S. Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Humic Substances ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Soil Column ◽  
Wastewater Effluent ◽  
Size Exclusion

Natural organic matter (NOM) occurs throughout the hydrologic cycle, varying in both amount and character. In this paper, a description of NOM in surface and drinking water, in groundwater and in seawater is presented. Water samples representing these environments were collected and characterized using multiple NOM characterization techniques, including fluorescence excitation emission matrices (F-EEM) and size exclusion liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). The results show that the raw surface water as well as the treated water comprises mainly (>70%) of humic substances. The biopolymers, which are more readily biodegradable, contribute up to 2% of the NOM in the raw water but this is completely removed after treatment. For sea water samples, humic substances represent about 50% of the dissolved organic carbon concentration (DOC), while the fraction with size bigger than 20 kDa (biopolymers) represents about 7%. During soil passage, there was preferential removal of non-humic substances (i.e., biopolymers) from wastewater effluent-impacted surface water while the specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA), which reflects the aromatic characteristics of organics in a sample, showed an increasing trend along the depth of the soil column. This is a consequence of the removal of non-humic substances (biopolymers) which results in an increase in aromaticity.

The characterisation of natural organic matter (NOM) in South African waters

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 648-657
Author(s):  
T. I. Nkambule ◽  
R. W. M. Krause ◽  
J. Haarhoff ◽  
B. B. Mamba
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
Humic Substances ◽  
South African ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Sand Filtration ◽  
Water Treatment Plants

The removal of natural organic matter (NOM) from water is becoming increasingly important in order to prevent the formation of carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs). The inadequate removal of NOM has a bearing on the capacity of other treatment processes to remove organic micro-pollutants or inorganic species that may be present in water. In order to effectively study the nature of South African water sources in terms of their NOM composition, water samples were collected from drinking water treatment plants in the five geographic water regions of South Africa. A raw water sample, an intermediate sample taken before sand filtration and a final sample after sand filtration were collected three times from these water treatment plants at two-month intervals and over three different seasons. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (FEEM), biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC), ultraviolet (UV) characterisation (200–900 nm) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) analyses were used to characterise the NOM in the water samples. The FEEM and UV results revealed that the samples were composed mainly of non-humic substances with low UV-254 absorbance, while some samples had high humic substances with high UV-254 values. The samples' DOC results were within the range of 3.25–21.44 mg/L carbon, which was indicative of the varying nature of the NOM composition in the regions where samples were collected. The BDOC fraction of the NOM, on the other hand, ranged from 20 to 65%, depending on the geographical location of the sampling site.

scholarly journals Natural organic matter removal by ion exchange at different positions in the drinking water treatment lane

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Grefte ◽  
M. Dignum ◽  
E. R. Cornelissen ◽  
L. C. Rietveld
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Biological Stability ◽  
Sand Filtration ◽  
Slow Sand Filtration

Abstract. To guarantee a good water quality at the customers tap, natural organic matter (NOM) should be (partly) removed during drinking water treatment. The objective of this research was to improve the biological stability of the produced water by incorporating anion exchange (IEX) for NOM removal. Different placement positions of IEX in the treatment lane (IEX positioned before coagulation, before ozonation or after slow sand filtration) and two IEX configurations (MIEX® and fluidized IEX (FIX)) were compared on water quality as well as costs. For this purpose the pre-treatment plant at Loenderveen and production plant Weesperkarspel of Waternet were used as a case study. Both, MIEX® and FIX were able to remove NOM (mainly the HS fraction) to a high extent. NOM removal can be done efficiently before ozonation and after slow sand filtration. The biological stability, in terms of assimilable organic carbon, biofilm formation rate and dissolved organic carbon, was improved by incorporating IEX for NOM removal. The operational costs were assumed to be directly dependent of the NOM removal rate and determined the difference between the IEX positions. The total costs for IEX for the three positions were approximately equal (0.0631 € m−3), however the savings on following treatment processes caused a cost reduction for the IEX positions before coagulation and before ozonation compared to IEX positioned after slow sand filtration. IEX positioned before ozonation was most cost effective and improved the biological stability of the treated water.

scholarly journals Biodegradation Behavior of Ozonated Natural Organic Matter in Sand Filters

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Z. Wang ◽  
R. S. Summers
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Glyoxylic Acid ◽  
Complex Mixture ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Sand Filters ◽  
Substrate Removal ◽  
Exchange Resins

Natural organic matter (NOM) in drinking water is a complex mixture of organic compounds. Some of the compounds are not biodegradable, while others are quickly biodegradable and a third group is more resistant to biodegradation. To have a better understanding of the biofiltration process in drinking water treatment, it is important to identify the elements of the quickly and slowly biodegradable NOM and to characterize the biodegradation rate of each element. In this study, an ozonated NOM solution was used as the substrate. The NOM was isolated from a groundwater in Germany using ion-exchange resins. The ozone dose was 0.35 mg O3/mg DOC (dissolved organic carbon). Previously bioacclimated sand was used as filter media and biomass source and was homogeneously distributed in the filter prior to each run. The substrate removal was evaluated by DOC, biodegradable DOC (BDOC), assimilable organic carbon (AOC), aldehyde and ketoacid analyses. When expressed in terms of the empty bed contact time (EBCT), the results showed that filter velocity in the range of 1.5 to 15 m/hr had no impact on substrate removal. This implies that substrate utilization, not external mass transfer, is the rate limiting step for substrate removal in drinking water biofilters. In this study, compounds or NOM fractions are termed quickly biodegradable if they are removed in the first three minutes of EBCT. 15% of the DOC was removed by the biofilter within three minutes of EBCT and was termed the quickly biodegradable fraction. The BDOC fraction of the ozonated solution was determined to be 40 to 45% of the DOC. In terms of BDOC, about one third of the total BDOC was quickly biodegradable. The AOC results show that about 90% of the total AOC was utilized by Spirillum sp. NOX (AOC-NOX). Most of the AOC was quickly biodegradable and was removed within one minute of EBCT. For aldehydes, glyoxal and methyl glyoxal were removed to below the detection limit after two minutes of EBCT. However, only 60% of formaldehyde removal was achieved in the first two minutes of EBCT, and no additional removal was achieved with increasing EBCT. Additionally, no significant removal of acetaldehyde was observed. The results of ketoacids show that their utilization rates were very high. More than 90% of glyoxylic acid and pyruvic acid were removed within one minute of EBCT.

scholarly journals Fouling analysis of polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes used for drinking water treatment

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 668-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Q. Zhao ◽  
C. P. Huang ◽  
S. Y. Chen ◽  
D. S. Wang ◽  
T. Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Fulvic Acid ◽  
Humic Substances ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Ultrafiltration Membranes ◽  
Fluorescence Excitation ◽  
Hydrophobic Fraction

Natural organic matter (NOM) plays a significant role in the fouling of ultrafiltration membranes in drinking water treatment processes. For a better understanding of the interaction between fractional components of NOM and polysulfone (PS) ultrafiltration membranes used for drinking water treatment, fouling and especially the physically irreversible fouling of natural organic matter were investigated. Resin fractionation, fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were employed to identify the potential foulants. The results showed that humic acid and fulvic acid of small size were likely to permeate the membrane, while the hydrophobic fraction of humic and fulvic acid and aromatic proteins tended to be rejected and retained. Organic compounds such as proteins, humic substances, and polysaccharide-like materials, were all detected in the fouling layer. The physically irreversible fouling of the PS membrane seemed to be mainly attributed to the hydrophobic fraction of humic substances.

scholarly journals Lability of natural organic matter in freshwater: a simple method for detection using hydrogen peroxide as an indicator

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabela Carreira Constantino ◽  
Amanda Maria Tadini ◽  
Marcelo Freitas Lima ◽  
Lídia Maria de Almeida Plicas ◽  
Altair Benedito Moreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Peroxide ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Ultrapure Water ◽  
Model Compounds ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
The Difference ◽  
One Year

Abstract. Natural organic matter (NOM) is an important component for understanding the behavior of pollutants in the environment. A fraction of NOM is considered labile, fresh and less oxidized. In this work, a simple method was developed to distinguish between labile (LOM) and recalcitrant (ROM) organic matter in freshwater samples. Pyruvate, lignin and fulvic acid were chosen as model compounds of labile and recalcitrant NOM. The samples were submitted to kinetic monitoring experiments using hydrogen peroxide. Pyruvate was the best standard for the quantification of LOM (for concetrations up to 2.9 mg L−1). ROM was quantified by measuring the difference between total organic carbon (TOC) and LOM concentrations. Curves obtained with 0.5 to 5.0 mg L−1 TOC (pyruvate) in freshwater or ultrapure water samples did not indicate the existence of a matrix effect. This simple method was applied to water samples that were collected monthly for one year; the resulting LOM concentrations ranged from 0.47 to 2.1 mg L−1 and the ROM concentrations ranged from 0.08 to 3.5 mg L−1. Based on this results we concluded that hydrogen peroxide kinetics can be used as a simple method to quantify LOM and ROM concentrations in freshwater samples.

Evaluation of drinking water treatment processes focusing on natural organic matter removal and on disinfection by-product formation

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 459-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Chae
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Product Formation ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Activated Carbon Adsorption

The aim of this study was to characterize and compare natural organic matter (NOM) removal and disinfection by-product (DBP) formation in the drinking water treatment train that can give valuable information, while optimizing the treatment process. In this study, the determination of the hydrophobic (HPO), transphilic (THP) and hydrophilic (HPI) NOM distribution was used in parallel with more related drinking water parameters to compare the selected waters. High-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) was applied to evaluate the relative changes of molecular size distribution of NOM in different treatment steps and source waters. This showed that the quantity, speciation and activated carbon adsorption of DBPs could vary not only by water quality, but also by the distribution and properties of the organic molecules that comprise NOM.

A comparison of surface water natural organic matter in raw filtered water samples, XAD, and reverse osmosis isolates

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2357-2371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Maurice ◽  
Michael J. Pullin ◽  
Stephen E. Cabaniss ◽  
Qunhui Zhou ◽  
Ksenija Namjesnik-Dejanovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Water Samples

Fate of effluent organic matter (EfOM) and natural organic matter (NOM) through riverbank filtration

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1999-2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Maeng ◽  
S. K. Sharma ◽  
A. Magic-Knezev ◽  
G. Amy
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Wastewater Effluent ◽  
Riverbank Filtration ◽  
Soil Columns ◽  
Effluent Organic Matter ◽  
Bulk Organic Matter ◽  
Water And Wastewater ◽  
The Impact

Understanding the fate of effluent organic matter (EfOM) and natural organic matter (NOM) through riverbank filtration is essential to assess the impact of wastewater effluent on the post treatment requirements of riverbank filtrates. Furthermore, their fate during drinking water treatment can significantly determine the process design. The objective of this study was to characterise bulk organic matter which consists of EfOM and NOM during riverbank filtration using a suite of innovative analytical tools. Wastewater effluent-derived surface water and surface water were used as source waters in experiments with soil columns. Results showed the preferential removal of non-humic substances (i.e. biopolymers) from wastewater effluent-derived surface water. The bulk organic matter characteristics of wastewater effluent-derived surface water and surface water were similar after 5 m soil passage in laboratory column experiment. Humic-like organic matter in surface water and wastewater effluent-derived surface water persisted through the soil passage. More than 50% of total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal with significant reduction of dissolved oxygen (DO) was observed in the top 50 cm of the soil columns for both surface water and wastewater effluent-derived surface water. This was due to biodegradation by soil biomass which was determined by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations and heterotrophic plate counts. High concentrations of ATP in the first few centimeters of infiltration surface reflect the highest microbial activity which correlates with the extent of DOC reduction. Good correlation of DOC removal with DO and biomass development was observed in the soil columns.

Measuring dissolved organic matter in estuarine and marine waters: size-exclusion chromatography with various detection methods

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Dulaquais ◽  
Johann Breitenstein ◽  
Matthieu Waeles ◽  
Rémi Marsac ◽  
Ricardo Riso
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Humic Substances ◽  
Size Exclusion Chromatography ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Exclusion Chromatography

Environmental contextDissolved organic matter (DOM), a key parameter in aquatic biogeochemistry, is difficult to characterise owing to its variable composition and structure. We report a chromatographic method with carbon, nitrogen and absorbance detection able to record the size distribution of DOM and changes in its composition. The method could be used to identify additional sources to river or coastal waters as well as monitoring the DOM size/reactivity continuum in open oceans. AbstractWe studied the performance and limitations of size-exclusion chromatography with organic carbon, ultraviolet and organic nitrogen detectors (SEC-OCD-UVD-OND) for characterising dissolved organic matter (DOM) in estuarine and marine waters. We identified a strong salt effect on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) determination; however, calibration gave good results at salinity levels close to those of the sample analysed (ΔS ± 2 psu (practical salinity units)), with limited matrix effects, enabling an accurate measurement of DOC, as demonstrated by an intercalibration exercise. The repeatability, reproducibility and limit of detection (3 ppb for both carbon and nitrogen) for the three detectors demonstrated the robustness of the method for a wide range of natural waters, including carbon-rich freshwaters and deep seawaters with low carbon content (6000 ppb-C to 300 ppb-C). Deeper analysis of the SEC demonstrated that proteins and polysaccharides are partly fractionated within the column, and that terrestrial humic substances, isolated on a XAD-8 resin, can also be eluted in both fractions associated with biopolymers and low-molecular-weight neutrals. Application of the method to the study of DOM along a macrotidal estuary that was influenced by agricultural activities revealed significant changes in its composition despite a conservative DOC distribution. Distinct origins and qualities of high-molecular-weight (>500 kDa) organic compounds were identified for riverine and marine end-members. A new diagram to track changes in DOM lability is proposed to complete the humic-substances diagram.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document