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Origins And Seasonal Variation Of Disinfection Byproduct Precursors, Ran Zhao

Doctoral Dissertations

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are formed from the disinfectant (e.g., chlorine) reacting with components of natural organic matter (NOM) in water drawn from surface water supplies, and are considered as the cause of potential serious human health problems. DBP precursors originate in large reservoirs from at least three types of sources: (1) watershed or allochthonous, (2) algal or autochthonous, and (3) bottom sediments or benthic. The properties of the NOM and the DBP precursor content of that NOM are unique to each source. The first objective of this dissertation was to use temporal and spatial water quality data from a drinking …