Monitoring the characteristics and removal of natural organic matter fractions in selected South African water treatment plants

Abstract

Abstract This study used spectroscopic methods to investigate the fate and dynamics of natural organic matter (NOM) as it traverses the treatment train at three water treatment plants (WTPs) in South Africa. The character, quantity, and removability of NOM at specific treatment stages was investigated by measuring changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, specific ultra-violet absorbance, UV absorbance, various spectroscopic indices, and maximum fluorescence intensity levels. A novel method of identifying and quantifying fluorescent fractions by combining synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) and Gaussian peak fitting is presented. The dynamics of NOM removal were modeled using 2D-SFS correlation spectroscopy. Humic and fulvic substances dominated coastal plants and were the most amenable for removal by coagulation as shown by Hermanus WTP (plant H), which had a 42% DOC removal at the coagulation stage. Tyrosine-like, tryptophan-like and microbial humic-like substances were degraded or transformed concurrently at plant Flag Bushiole (FB) whereas, at plant H, fulvic-like matter was transformed first followed by tyrosine-like then humic-like matter. Through 2D-SFS, this study revealed that NOM transformation was varied as a consequence of NOM character, the type and dosage of treatment chemicals used, and WTPs operational parameters.