THMs

Trihalomethanes (THMs) as the main disinfection by-products (DBPs) during the last four decades have concerned the public and scientific opinion for the possible carcinogenic effect on human health. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the disinfection of drinking water, types of DBPs and the formation of THMs. The formation of THMs during the chlorination process represents a serious health problem, as they significantly increase the possibility of the risk of several types of cancers. In this article we are discuss the health risk imposed by THMs, considered toxic and possible carcinogenic as well as mutagenic to the human body. Thus, their elimination and regular monitoring is imperative. In this article we present the removal technologies for the THMs and their precursors. This article also provides the basic information related to the analytical methods for the determination of the THMs.

To cite this article: Motasem N. Saidan, Süreyya Meric, Khaled Rawajfeh, Radwan A. Al-Weshah & Salam F. Al-Zu'bi (2015): Effect of bromide and other factors on brominated trihalomethanes formation in treated water supply in Jordan, Desalination and Water Treatment, A B S T R A C T Chlorine disinfection of drinking water containing natural organic matter leads to the formation of brominated trihalomethanes (THMs) in the presence of bromide ions. In the present study, the results of an experimental investigation into the factors forming THMs in the presence of bromide ions are presented. The experiments were conducted using samples collected from Zai water treatment plant in Jordan under different operating conditions such as reaction time, temperature, pH, TOC, and the ratio between bromide ions and initial chlorine dose. The experimental results showed that the formation of all brominated THMs, mainly CHBr 3), increased with increasing of any of these parameter values and decreased chloroform formation. CHCl 2 Br and CHClBr 2 increased with increasing the experimental parameters and thereafter remained constant or slightly decreased. Moreover, n(Br) values which represents bromine incorporation into THMs are almost in the range from 2.5 to 2.7. However, the values of n(Br) increased with increasing bromide concentration and remained constant or slightly decreased with increasing contact time under the studied range of bromide ion concentrations.