Application of Tea Polyphenols and Their Effects on Ultrafiltration Effluent Disinfection and Microbial Risk

Abstract

To reduce the risk of by-products from traditional disinfection technology and to ensure safe water quality, tea polyphenols (TP) were used as disinfectants after the ultrafiltration (UF) process. The disinfectant effect of TP was tested on the total number of bacteria and changes in bacterial community structure, and pathogen virulence factors were detected by Illumina’s high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the recommended dosage of TP for water treatment after UF was 5 mg/L, which can effectively inhibit bacterial growth and maintain the disinfectant effect for up to 48 h later. In the disinfection process, the degradation of the tea polyphenols concentration was fitted to the equation of the second order reaction kinetics. The lower the initial concentration and the higher the reaction temperature, the faster the TP decay. The metagenomic analysis of the microorganisms indicated that disinfection with tea polyphenols reduced the diversity of microorganisms in the water and altered the structure of the bacterial community. The existence of tea polyphenols also significantly inhibited the growth of potential common Gram-negative pathogens, especially Mycobacterium. TP disinfectant can also reduce the diversity and abundance of pathogenic bacterial virulence factors and improve biological safety in drinking water.