| Title |
Fate and Characteristics of Dissolved Organic Matters in a Water Reclamation Facility, Korea |
| Authors |
권은광 ( Eun-kwang Kwon ) ; 이원태 ( Wontae Lee ) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2021.37.5.355 |
| Keywords |
DOC; FEEM; LC-OCD; Organics; Water reclamation |
| Abstract |
This study investigated the fate of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a water reclamation facility (WRF) in Korea. The WRF consists of coagulation, sedimentation, microfiltration, and reverse osmosis (RO) components. The production capacity of WRF is 90,000 m3/day. The reclaimed water is reused as industrial water. We also characterized DOM in raw, processed, and finished waters based on analysis of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UVA254), fluorescence excitation emission matrix (FEEM), and DOC fractions via liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). Based on the results of DOC, UVA254, and FEEM analyses, neither the coagulation/sedimentation nor the microfiltration at the WRF effectively removed DOM. The RO process removed more than 94% of DOM. The raw water (i.e., secondary treated effluent obtained from a wastewater treatment plant) exhibited tryptophan-like peaks, which are a promising marker of wastewater, in the FEEM analysis. Coagulation and microfiltration failed to eliminate the wastewater marker, whereas RO completely removed it. The raw water also carried high levels (89.4%) of hydrophilic and low-molecular weight substances, which are difficult to remove via coagulation-sedimentation or microfiltration. Humic substance was a major component of the hydrophilic fractions. Based on the LC-OCD analysis, RO effectively removed the humic and polymeric materials from DOM. |