Nitrate and chloride formation in chloramination

Abstract

The formation of nitrate and chloride as end-products of chloramination (combined chlorination) was investigated at pH ranging between 6.9 and 9.6 at 25°C. The experimental results comprised concentration-time profiles of combined chlorine residuals along with nitrate and chloride. Nitrite, if present, was always below the detectibility limit of the analytical method used (25 ppb). Mass balances on chlorine species depicted that chloride formed during the slow decay of combined chlorine residuals does not account for all the chlorine lost. This substantiates the formation of other reaction end-products which are yet to be identified. A kinetic model for chloramination is proposed based on the kinetic data obtained in this study.