A method for measuring haloform formation during wastewater chlorination

An experimental methodology was developed to measure haloform formation in chlorinated wastewater samples using a flexible bag, zero-head space, reactor. A flexible reactor vessel is advantageous when the reaction products are volatile since successive samples can be collected over time without creating a head-space and thereby eliminating partitioning of volatile reaction products from the aqueous phase to the gaseous phase. Grab samples of three kinds of wastewaters; raw wastewater, nitrified secondary effluent, and partially nitrified secondary effluent, were chlorinated at two levels of chlorine doses (Cl2). The magnitude and rate of total trihalomethane (TTHM) production was estimated based on the formation of chloroform (CHCl3), bromodichloromethane (CHCl2Br), dibromochloromethane (CHClBr2) and bromoform (CHBr3).