Formation of Halogenated Byproducts upon Water Treatment with Peracetic Acid

Abstract

Peracetic acid has quickly gained ground in water treatment over the last decade. Specifically, its disinfection efficacy toward a wide spectrum of microorganisms in wastewater is accompanied by the simplicity of its handling and use. Moreover, peracetic acid represents a promising option to achieve disinfection while reducing the concentration of typical chlorination byproducts in the final effluent. However, its chemical behavior is still amply debated. In this study, the reactivity of peracetic acid in the presence of halides, namely, chloride and bromide, was investigated in both synthetic waters and in a real contaminated water. While previous studies focused on the ability of this disinfectant to form halogenated byproducts in the presence of dissolved organic matter and halides, this work indicates that peracetic acid also contributes itself as a primary source in the formation of these potentially carcinogenic compounds. Specifically, this study suggests that 1.5 mM peracetic acid may form around 1–10 μg/L of bromoform when bromide is present. Bromoform formation reaches a maximum at near neutral pH, which is highly relevant for wastewater management.

Selective Transformation of Micropollutants in Saline Wastewater by Peracetic Acid: The Overlooked Brominating Agents

“…Noteworthy, only brominated THMs (CHBr 3 ) and HAAs (MBAA, DBAA, and TBAA) were detected during PAA treatment in the saline waters without NOM (Figure c, d). As far as the chlorine-containing byproducts are concerned, the kinetic data suggested that HOCl would be formed from PAA/Cl – at a rate that is 6 orders of magnitude lower than HOBr formed from PAA/Br – . Considering that HOCl reactivity in the halogenating reaction is likewise significantly lower than that of HOBr, it appears that PAA/X – process is not a reasonable source of chlorinated byproducts (Text S10).…”

“…Among them, CHBr 3 (40.5 μg/L) was the dominant species of Br-DBPs, but only accounted for 3.5% of TOBr (Figure b). The electron-rich moieties of NOM (e.g., phenolic groups) can offer more active sites, efficiently quenching halogen species and producing halogenated byproducts. , Nevertheless, Br-DBPs concentrations significantly decreased, but the TOBr levels elevated in the presence of NOM (Figure c, d). In contrast, bromine in THMs and HAAs accounts for more than 50% of TOBr in conventional halogenation processes .…”

“…As far as the chlorine-containing byproducts are concerned, the kinetic data suggested that HOCl would be formed from PAA/ Cl − at a rate that is 6 orders of magnitude lower than HOBr formed from PAA/Br − . 53 Considering that HOCl reactivity in the halogenating reaction is likewise significantly lower than that of HOBr, it appears that PAA/X − process is not a reasonable source of chlorinated byproducts (Text S10). Among them, CHBr 3 (40.5 μg/L) was the dominant species of Br-DBPs, but only accounted for 3.5% of TOBr (Figure 5b).…”

Viability of SARS-CoV-2 on lettuce, chicken, and salmon and its inactivation by peracetic acid, ethanol, and chlorine dioxide

“…( OECD, 2013 ; Moon et al, 2021 ). As disinfectants to be evaluated, chlorine dioxide (ClO 2 ) and peracetic acid (PAA) were selected in consideration of food grade, persistence, and generation of toxic by-products such as trihalomethane ( Aieta and Berg, 1986 ; Farinelli et al, 2022 ). As ethanol (EtOH) is known to be effective in inactivating SARS-CoV-2 on various surface materials, food-grade ethanol was used in this study ( Jung et al, 2023 ).…”