Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon
The quality and safety of reverse osmosis (RO)-treated secondary wastewater, for indirect The quality and safety of reverse osmosis (RO)-treated secondary wastewater, for indirect potable re-use, was assessed using a dataset of 375 chemicals measured in RO-treated wastewater. A screening health risk...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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IWA Publishing
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34814 |
| _version_ | 1848754325449342976 |
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| author | Linge, Kathryn Blair, Palenque Busetti, Francesco Rodriguez, C Heitz, Anna |
| author_facet | Linge, Kathryn Blair, Palenque Busetti, Francesco Rodriguez, C Heitz, Anna |
| author_sort | Linge, Kathryn |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The quality and safety of reverse osmosis (RO)-treated secondary wastewater, for indirect The quality and safety of reverse osmosis (RO)-treated secondary wastewater, for indirect potable re-use, was assessed using a dataset of 375 chemicals measured in RO-treated wastewater. A screening health risk assessment indicated that four N-nitrosamines were of potential concern, although median concentrations of these chemicals were always below health values. The most frequently detected chemicals in RO-treated water were disinfection by-products, volatile organic compounds, metals and complexing agents, in contrast to many monitoring programs that focus on pharmaceuticals, personal care products and hormones. Frequent detections in RO-treated wastewater were most related to high concentrations in secondary wastewater, relative to limit of reporting, and the potential for chemicals to form or be added during the treatment process, rather than poor rejection by RO membranes. Between 3.7 and 10.7 µg/L of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in RO permeate could be attributed from chemicals detected on at least one occasion, with the majority of this total attributed to chemicals detected in less than 25% of samples. While chemicals below detection may contribute a significant component of DOC, it is likely that natural organic matter and soluble microbial products still contribute the majority of DOC to RO permeate. A high degree of safety is demonstrated for the use of RO-treated wastewater as an indirect source of potable water. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:38:37Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-34814 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:38:37Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-348142019-02-19T04:27:41Z Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon Linge, Kathryn Blair, Palenque Busetti, Francesco Rodriguez, C Heitz, Anna groundwater replenishment indirect potable reuse water recycling screening health risk assessment reverse osmosis chemical risk The quality and safety of reverse osmosis (RO)-treated secondary wastewater, for indirect The quality and safety of reverse osmosis (RO)-treated secondary wastewater, for indirect potable re-use, was assessed using a dataset of 375 chemicals measured in RO-treated wastewater. A screening health risk assessment indicated that four N-nitrosamines were of potential concern, although median concentrations of these chemicals were always below health values. The most frequently detected chemicals in RO-treated water were disinfection by-products, volatile organic compounds, metals and complexing agents, in contrast to many monitoring programs that focus on pharmaceuticals, personal care products and hormones. Frequent detections in RO-treated wastewater were most related to high concentrations in secondary wastewater, relative to limit of reporting, and the potential for chemicals to form or be added during the treatment process, rather than poor rejection by RO membranes. Between 3.7 and 10.7 µg/L of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in RO permeate could be attributed from chemicals detected on at least one occasion, with the majority of this total attributed to chemicals detected in less than 25% of samples. While chemicals below detection may contribute a significant component of DOC, it is likely that natural organic matter and soluble microbial products still contribute the majority of DOC to RO permeate. A high degree of safety is demonstrated for the use of RO-treated wastewater as an indirect source of potable water. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34814 10.2166/aqua.2012.047 IWA Publishing fulltext |
| spellingShingle | groundwater replenishment indirect potable reuse water recycling screening health risk assessment reverse osmosis chemical risk Linge, Kathryn Blair, Palenque Busetti, Francesco Rodriguez, C Heitz, Anna Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| title | Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| title_full | Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| title_fullStr | Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| title_short | Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| title_sort | chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon |
| topic | groundwater replenishment indirect potable reuse water recycling screening health risk assessment reverse osmosis chemical risk |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34814 |