|
Water chlorination is the process of adding chlorine (Cl 2) or hypochlorite to water as a method of water purification to make it fit for human consumption as drinking water. In particular, chlorination is used to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases. History John Snow was the first to successfully use chlorine to disinfect the water supply in Soho, London to stem the spread of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak. William Soper also used chlorinated lime to treat the sewage produced by typhoid patients in 1879.[citation needed] In a paper published in 1894, Moritz Traube formally proposed the addition of chloride of lime (calcium hypochlorite) to water to render it “germ-free.” Two other investigators confirmed Traube’s findings and published their papers in 1895.[1] Early attempts at implementing water chlorination at a water treatment plant were made in 1893 in Hamburg, Germany, and in 1897 the city of Maidstone, England was the first to have entire water supply treated with chlorine.[2] Permanent water chlorination began in 1905, when a faulty slow sand filter and a contaminated water supply led to a serious typhoid fever epidemic in Lincoln, England.[3] Dr. Alexander Cruickshank Houston used chlorination of the water to stem the epidemic. His installation fed a concentrated solution of chloride of lime to the water being treated. The chlorination of the water supply helped stop the epidemic and as a precaution, the chlorination was continued until 1911 when a new water supply was instituted.[4] Manual Control Chlorinator for the liquefaction of chlorine for water purification, early 20th century. From Chlorination of Water by Joseph Race, 1918. The first continuous use of chlorine in the United States for disinfection took place in 1908 at Boonton Reservoir (on the Rockaway River), which served as the supply for Jersey City, New Jersey.[5] Chlorination was achieved by controlled additions of dilute solutions of chloride of lime (calcium hypochlorite) at doses of 0.2 to 0.35 ppm. The treatment process was conceived by Dr. John L. Leal, and the chlorination plant was designed by George Warren Fuller.[6] Over the next few years, chlorine disinfection using chloride of lime were rapidly installed in drinking water systems around the world.[7] The technique of purification of drinking water by use of compressed liquefied chlorine gas was developed by a British officer in the Indian Medical Service, Vincent B. Nesfield, in 1903. According to his own account, "It occurred to me that chlorine gas might be found satisfactory ... if suitable means could be found for using it.... The next important question was how to render the gas portable. This might be accomplished in two ways: By liquefying it, and storing it in lead-lined iron vessels, having a jet with a very fine capillary canal, and fitted with a tap or a screw cap. The tap is turned on, and the cylinder placed in the amount of water required. The chlorine bubbles out, and in ten to fifteen minutes the water is absolutely safe. This method would be of use on a large scale, as for service water carts.”[8] Major Carl Rogers Darnall, Professor of Chemistry at the Army Medical School, gave the first practical demonstration of this in 1910. Shortly thereafter, Major William J. L. Lyster of the Army Medical Department used a solution of calcium hypochlorite in a linen bag to treat water. For many decades, Lyster's method remained the standard for U.S. ground forces in the field and in camps, implemented in the form of the familiar Lyster Bag (also spelled Lister Bag). This work became the basis for present day systems of municipal water purification. Chlorine gas was first used on a continuing basis to disinfect the water supply at the Belmont filter plant, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beginning in 1913. By 1941, disinfection of U.S. drinking water by chlorine gas had largely replaced the use of chloride of lime.[9][10] Chlorination can also be practiced using sodium hypochlorite or various other chemicals. Biochemistry As a halogen, chlorine is a highly efficient disinfectant, and is added to public water supplies to kill disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoans, that commonly grow in water supply reservoirs, on the walls of water mains and in storage tanks.[11] The microscopic agents of many diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery killed countless people annually before disinfection methods were employed routinely.[11] Chlorine is obtained from salt (NaCl). It is a gas at atmospheric pressures but liquifies under pressure. The liquified gas is transported and used as such. As a strong oxidizing agent, chlorine kills via the oxidation of organic molecules.[11] Chlorine and hydrolysis product hypochlorous acid are neutrally charged and therefore easily penetrate the negatively charged surface of pathogens. It is able to disintegrate the lipids that compose the cell wall and react with intracellular enzymes and proteins, making them nonfunctional. Microorganisms then either die or are no longer able to multiply.[12] Principles When dissolved in water, chlorine converts to an equilibrium mixture of chlorine, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), and hydrochloric acid (HCl): Cl2 + H2O \overrightarrow{\leftarrow} HOCl + HCl In acidic solution, the major species are Cl 2 and HOCl, whereas in alkaline solution, effectively only ClO- (hypochlorite ion) is present. Very small concentrations of ClO2-, ClO3-, ClO4- are also found.[13] Shock chlorination Shock chlorination is a process used in many swimming pools, water wells, springs, and other water sources to reduce the bacterial and algal residue in the water. Shock chlorination is performed by mixing a large amount of hypochlorite into the water. The hypochlorite can be in the form of a powder or a liquid such as chlorine bleach (solution of sodium hypochlorite in water). Water that is being shock chlorinated should not be swum in or drunk until the sodium hypochlorite count in the water goes down to three parts per million (PPM) or less. Drawbacks to water chlorination Disinfection by chlorination can be problematic, in some circumstances. Chlorine can react with naturally occurring organic compounds found in the water supply to produce compounds known as disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The most common DBPs are trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Trihalomethanes are the main disinfectant by-products created from chlorination with two different types, bromoform and dibromochloromethane, which are mainly responsible for health hazards. Their effects depend strictly on the duration of their exposure to the chemicals and the amount ingested into the body. In high doses, bromoform mainly slows down regular brain activity, which is manifested by symptoms such as sleepiness or sedation. Chronic exposure of both bromoform and dibromochloromethane can cause liver and kidney cancer, as well as heart disease, unconsciousness, or death in high doses.[14] Due to the potential carcinogenicity of these compounds, drinking water regulations across the developed world require regular monitoring of the concentration of these compounds in the distribution systems of municipal water systems. The World Health Organization has stated that the "risks to health from these by-products are extremely small in comparison with the risks associated with inadequate disinfection" [15] There are also other concerns regarding chlorine, including volatile nature which causes it to disappear too quickly from the water system, and aesthetic concerns such as taste and odor. Alternative methods for water disinfection Chlorine in water is over three times more effective as a disinfectant against Escherichia coli than an equivalent concentration of bromine, and over six times more effective than an equivalent concentration of iodine.[16] Ozone Ozonation is used by many European countries and also in a few municipalities in the United States and Canada. This alternative is more costeffective and energy-intensive. It involves ozone being bubbled through the water, breaking down all parasites, bacteria, and all other harmful organic substances. However, this method leaves no residual ozone to control contamination of the water after the process has been completed.[17] Due to current regulations,[year needed] systems employing ozonation in the United States still must maintain chlorine residuals comparable to systems without ozonation.[citation needed] The advantage of chlorine in comparison to ozone is that the residual persists in the water for an extended period of time. This feature allows the chlorine to travel through the water supply system, effectively controlling pathogenic backflow contamination. In a large system this may not be adequate, and so chlorine levels may be boosted at points in the distribution system, or chloramine may be used, which remains in the water for longer before reacting or dissipating. Chloramine Disinfection with chloramine is also becoming increasingly common. The issue of undesirable byproducts is less serious with chloramine than chlorine (gas or hypochlorite). Unlike chlorine, chloramine has a longer half life in the distribution system and still maintains effective protection against pathogens. The reason chloramines persist in the distribution is due to the relatively lower redox potential in comparison to free chlorine. Chloramine is formed by the addition of ammonia into drinking water to form monochloramine and/or dichloramine. Whereas Helicobacter pylori can be many times more resistant to chlorine than Escherichia coli, both organisms are about equally susceptible to the disinfecting effect of chloramine.[18] Home filtration Water treated by filtration and home filtration may not need further disinfection; a very high proportion of pathogens are removed by materials in the filter bed. Filtered water must be used soon after it is filtered, as the low amount of remaining microbes may proliferate over time. In general, these home filters remove over 90% of the chlorine available to a glass of treated water. These filters must be periodically replaced otherwise the bacterial content of the water may actually increase due to the growth of bacteria within the filter unit.[17] UV radiation Another method which is gaining popularity is UV disinfection. UV treatment leaves no residue in the water due to use of light instead of chemical disinfectants. However, this method alone (as well as chlorination alone) will not remove toxins from bacteria, pesticides, heavy metals, etc. from water. |
About us|Jobs|Help|Disclaimer|Advertising services|Contact us|Sign in|Website map|Search|
GMT+8, 2015-9-11 21:44 , Processed in 0.198800 second(s), 16 queries .
