Optimizing Potable Water Reuse Systems: Chloramines or Hydrogen Peroxide for UV-Based Advanced Oxidation Process?

The tapping of municipal wastewater for potable reuse significantly enhances drinking water supply in drought-stricken regions worldwide. Membrane-based potable reuse treatment trains commonly employ ultraviolet-based advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs) to degrade trace organic contaminants in water to produce high-quality recycled water. Hydrogen peroxide (HO) is used as the default photo-oxidant. Meanwhile, chloramines, which are added to prevent biofouling, pass through the membranes and impact the treatment efficiency of UV-AOP. Water reuse facilities therefore face the dilemma of optimizing HO (an added photo-oxidant) and chloramines (a carry-over photo-oxidant) doses. Utilizing a uniquely designed pilot-scale reactor and real-time recycled water, we evaluated treatment efficiencies of UV-AOP on six important indicator contaminants, with monochloramine (NHCl) and HO as photo-oxidants. Hydroxyl radical (HO) and reactive chlorine species, such as the chlorine atom (Cl) and chlorine dimer (Cl), were the major reactive species. Overall, radicals generated from photolysis of NHCl alone achieved removal of indicator compounds, which can be further improved by optimizing UV fluence, i.e., the UV dose. Furthermore, the addition of HO enhanced HO formation and improved contaminant removal. However, the addition of HO, when the background NHCl level was above 2 mg L (as Cl), provided limited improvement in treatment efficiency. These trade-offs between chloramine and HO as oxidants, and the recommended optimization of the associated effective UV fluence, are critical for energy-efficient and cost-effective potable reuse to address the challenges of global water scarcity.