Investigation of ozone reaction in river waters causing instantaneous ozone demand

Ozone consumption by water can be characterized by the instantaneous ozone demand (IOD) and a pseudo first order decay constant. Utilizing the flow injection analytical system for measuring IOD, the instantaneous ozone demand characteristics of two river waters (Korea) were investigated, utilizing a .OH probe compound and .OH scavenger, and were compared with those of two commercial humic acids (the Suwannee River humic acid and Aldrich humic acid). The major findings were as follows; (1) The IOD in river waters was found to be mainly due to the reaction of the ozone with natural organic matter (NOM), which constituted approximately 0.26-0.29mg/mg DOC, and was responsible for the consumption of more than 40% of the applied ozone. Whereas, the IOD of the two commercial humic acids were three times more than those of the river waters. (2) The IOD in the river waters was mainly caused by the direct ozone reaction with dissolved organics, not from the .OH mediated ozone reaction. However, for the two commercial humic acids, more than 40% of the IOD came from the .OH mediated ozone reaction. (3) The hydrophobic fractions of the dissolved organics in the river waters were mainly responsible for the IOD. The IOD of the hydrophobic organics was approximately ten times larger than that of the hydrophilic organics. Although the exact magnitude of the IOD, and the relative importance of the direct/indirect ozone reaction with river water may vary greatly depending upon the source of the NOM, the characteristics of the IOD compromise a significant fraction of the ozone dose need (especially in achieving good ozone disinfection) in water treatment plants.