Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2025

Detecting the Water-soluble Chloride Distribution of Cement Paste in a High-precision Way
Published on: November 21, 2017
Insight into mixed chlorine/chloramines conversion and associated water quality variability in drinking water
Renjie Pan1, Tian-Yang Zhang1, Zheng-Xiong Zheng1
1State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Key Laboratory of Urban Water Supply, Water Saving and Water Environment Governance in the Yangtze River Delta of Ministry of Water Resources, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
Abstract:
Mixed chlorine/chloramines are common in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs); however, their transformation and impact on chemical and microbial characteristics are not well understood. We systematically investigated water quality parameters associated with mixed chlorine/chloramine species conversion in 192 samples (including raw, finished, and tap water) collected throughout the year in a city in East China. Various chlorine/chloramine species (free chlorine, monochloramine [NH2Cl], dichloramine [NHCl2], and organic chloramines [OC]) were detected in both chlorinated and chloraminated DWDSs. NHCl2 + OC increased with transport distance along the pipeline network. The maximum proportion of NHCl2 + OC in over total chlorine in tap water reached 66 % and 38 % from chlorinated and chloraminated DWDSs, respectively. Both free chlorine and NH2Cl showed a rapid decay in the water pipe systems, but NHCl2 and OC were more persistent. Correlations between chlorine/chloramine species and physicochemical parameters were established. Models for predicting the sum of chloroform/TCM, bromodichloromethane/BDCM, chlorodibromomethane/CBDM, and bromoform/TBM (THM4) (R2 = 0.56) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) (R2 = 0.65) exhibited greater accuracy based on machine learning tuned with chlorine/chloramine species, particularly NHCl2 + OC. The predominant bacterial communities in mixed chlorine/chloramine systems were those resistant to chlorine or chloramine such as proteobacteria. NH2Cl was the most significant explanatory factor (28.1 %) for the variation in microbial community assemblage in chloraminated DWDSs. Although residual free chlorine and NHCl2 + OC, accounted for a smaller proportion of chlorine species in chloraminated DWDSs, they played an essential role (12.4 % and 9.1 %, respectively) in the microbial community structure.
Related Concept Videos
Quality of Water
Testing Water Quality
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Factors Affecting Solubility
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Chlorination and Bromination of Benzene
Atomic Mass

