Abstract
Organic matter (OM) causes many problems in drinking water treatment. It is difficult to monitor OM concentrations and character during treatment processes due to its complexity. Fluorescence spectroscopy is a promising tool for online monitoring. In this study, a unique dataset of fluorescence excitation emission matrixes (EEMs) (n=867) was collected from all treatment stages of five drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) situated in diverse locations from subtropical to temperate climate. The WTPs incorporated various water sources, treatment processes and OM removal efficiencies (DOC removal 0%-68%). Despite these differences, four common fluorescence PARAFAC components were identified for characterisation of OM concentration and treatability. Moreover, fluorescence component ratios showed site-specific statistically significant correlations with OM removal, which contrasted with correlations between specific UV absorbance at 254nm (SUVA) and OM removal that were not statistically significant. This indicates that use of fluorescence spectroscopy may be a more robust alternative for predicting DOC removal than UV spectroscopy. Based on the identified fluorescence components, four optical locations were selected in order to move towards single wavelength online OM monitoring.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 159-169 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Water Research |
| Volume | 54 |
| Early online date | 7 Feb 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2014 |
Keywords
- Coagulation
- Dissolved organic carbon
- Drinking water treatment
- Fluorescence excitation emission matrix (FEEM)
- SUVA
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Water Science and Technology
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Pollution
- Ecological Modelling
