Molecular insights towards changing behaviors of organic matter in a full-scale water treatment plant using FTICR-MS

Shunkai Xu; Yangtao Wu; Lingjun Bu; Lin Deng; Guangchao Li; Shiqing Zhou; Zhou Shi

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138731

Molecular insights towards changing behaviors of organic matter in a full-scale water treatment plant using FTICR-MS

Chemosphere. 2023 Jul:330:138731. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138731. Epub 2023 Apr 20.

Authors

Shunkai Xu¹, Yangtao Wu², Lingjun Bu³, Lin Deng³, Guangchao Li⁴, Shiqing Zhou³, Zhou Shi³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Education, Department of Water Engineering and Science, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China; Beijing General Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute Co. Ltd., Beijing 100082, China.
² Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Education, Department of Water Engineering and Science, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: yangtao.wu@polyu.edu.hk.
³ Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Education, Department of Water Engineering and Science, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Education, Department of Water Engineering and Science, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China. Electronic address: lgc_hnu@hnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37086984
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138731

Abstract

The changing behavior of organic matter in a full-scale water treatment process was characterized based on the three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). Polyaluminum chloride (PAC) as a coagulant can help to effectively remove soluble microbial by-products-like and aromatic protein-like substances during coagulation and sedimentation, corresponding to tannin and coagulated aromatic regions. The leakage of soluble microbial products during sand filtration resulted in an increase in the intensity of biomass-like regions. Nitrogen-containing compounds have higher weighted average value of double bond equivalents (DBE_w) and the modified aromaticity index (AI_mod-w) than nitrogen-free compounds. Water treatment can preferentially remove unsaturated nitrogen-containing compounds with more O atoms and higher-oxidation-state carbon. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and UV₂₅₄ were not correlated well with changes in nitrogen-containing compounds due to the preferential removal of nitrogen-containing compounds. This study revealed the specificity of organic matter removal during water treatment, and it was helpful in optimizing treatment processes for various raw water to ensure water quality.

Keywords: Changing behavior; Non-targeting screen; Organic matter; Removal specificity; Water treatment plant.

MeSH terms

Carbon
Filtration
Mass Spectrometry
Water Purification* / methods
Water Quality

Substances

Carbon