Determination of N-chloramines in As-Samra chlorinated wastewater and their effect on the disinfection process

Chlorine is the most widely used disinfectant of wastewater due to its capacity to inactivate most pathogenic microorganisms quickly. However, chlorine reacts with natural organic compounds present in wastewater to produce some undesirable organic byproducts. One such class of compounds is the nitrogenous compounds. The reaction between chlorine and compounds containing a nitrogen atom with one or more hydrogen atoms attached to it will form chloramines which have lower disinfection efficiency. Eighty percent of the wastewater generated in Jordan is treated at the Khirbet As-Samra wastewater treatment plant for eventual use in agriculture. In this study efficiency of chlorination was studied by collecting samples from the effluent of the treatment plant. The yield concentration of N-chloramines upon chlorination was determined. Efficiency of disinfection process as a function of contact time, concentration of chlorine dosage, concentration of nitrogenous compound and pH were studied. In this study, it has been found that at a chlorine dosage of 15 mg/L and contact time of 15 min, the percentage total coliform kill in As-samra wastewater sample was 100%. After addition of histidine, glycine and phenylalanine (15 mg/L in each case) to the wastewater sample, the percentage of total coliform kill dropped to 58, 78 and 79% respectively. When chlorine dosage was increased to 24 mg/L the percentage total coliform kill reached 96, 99 and 100% in wastewater samples treated with 5 mg/L histidine, glycine and phenylalanine, respectively. The percentage total coliform kill dropped to zero in wastewater samples treated with histidine, glycine and phenylalanine at a concentration of 30 mg/L each. This work supports the theory that amino acids and ammonia preferentially react with chlorine to form N-chloramine which significantly reduces the disinfection efficiency of the chlorination process.