Masten 9632232 This is an award to support research on a recirculating treatment system using ozone for improving the biodegradability of disinfection byproducts and precursors from water containing natural organic matter. The project's research objectives are to obtain an understanding of how organic materials in natural waters are modified during the application of ozone and the response of biological systems to products of this ozonation process. This knowledge will be utilized in development of mathematical models that can be used to predict removal of the target substances from water by the use of the recirculating system proposed for study in this project. The parameters to be monitored in evaluation of the system to be studied include total organic carbon, ultraviolet absorbance, alkalinity, assimilable organic carbon, trihalomethanes, haloacetic acid formation potential, heavy metals, bromide ion and specific organic compounds. This project addresses a need for determining how to deal with the presence of naturally occurring organic materials in water that combine with chlorine when used as a disinfectant to produce undesirable compounds of carcinogenic significance. Results of this project are expected to lead to mathematical models that can be utilized in the engineering design of systems to address this problem. The research being conducted involves identification of relationships between products of the ozonation process, the biodegradability of those products and the potential for the formation of trihalomethanes and other chlorinated compounds during subsequent chlorination to disinfect the treated water.
