Formation of regulated and unregulated disinfection byproducts during chlorination and chloramination: Roles of dissolved organic matter type, bromide, and iodide

Algal blooms and wastewater effluents can introduce algal organic matter (AOM) and effluent organic matter (EfOM) into surface waters, respectively. In this study, the impact of bromide and iodide on the formation of halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during chlorination and chloramination from various types of dissolved organic matter (DOM, e.g., natural organic matter (NOM), AOM, and EfOM) were investigated based on the data collected from literature. In general, higher formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) was observed in NOM than AOM and EfOM, indicating high reactivities of phenolic moieties with both chlorine and monochloramine. The formation of haloacetaldehydes (HALs), haloacetonitriles (HANs) and haloacetamides (HAMs) was much lower than THMs and HAAs. Increasing initial bromide concentrations increased the formation of THMs, HAAs, HANs, and HAMs, but not HALs. Bromine substitution factor (BSF) values of DBPs formed in chlorination decreased as specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) increased. AOM favored the formation of iodinated THMs (I-THMs) during chloramination using preformed chloramines and chlorination-chloramination processes. Increasing prechlorination time can reduce the I-THM concentrations because of the conversion of iodide to iodate, but this increased the formation of chlorinated and brominated DBPs. In an analogous way, iodine substitution factor (ISF) values of I-THMs formed in chloramination decreased as SUVA values of DOM increased. Compared to chlorination, the formation of noniodinated DBPs is low in chloramination.     

南水北调丹江口水库水氯(胺)化消毒副产物产生特性与消毒工艺对比

系统研究了南水北调中线工程水源——丹江口水库水在氯(胺)化消毒条件下,常规消毒副产物的产生特性,考察了消毒方式、消毒剂投加量、接触时间、p H和溴离子浓度等因素的影响,并对消毒工艺参数进行了优化.结果发现,丹江口水库水经氯化消毒可产生三氯甲烷、二氯一溴甲烷等常规含碳和较低浓度二氯乙腈、三氯硝基甲烷等含氮消毒副产物,而氯胺化消毒仅产生三氯甲烷和三氯硝基甲烷等消毒副产物(disinfection by-products,DBPs).自由氯消毒过程产生的各类型DBPs浓度约为氯胺消毒的7.5倍,短时自由氯转氯胺方式DBPs产生量介于两者之间;随着自由氯投加量增加,各类型消毒副产物均呈现增加趋势,投加量大于2 mg·L-1后DBPs增加量较少.随氯胺投加量增加,三氯甲烷生成量变化不大,投加量大于2mg·L-1后可产生三氯硝基甲烷等副产物.随反应时间延长,自由氯的衰减速率明显大于氯胺,同时消毒副产物增长量明显快于氯胺消毒.随着p H升高,自由氯消毒后三卤甲烷含量呈现增加趋势,而氯胺消毒后变化不明显.随溴离子浓度的增加,自由氯和氯胺消毒后副产物类型均向溴代DBPs转变,同时总生成量明显增加,自由氯消毒DBPs增长量明显大于氯胺消毒过程.丹江口水库水采用氯胺化消毒可以降低消毒副产物的生成风险,如采用自由氯消毒方式,水厂需根据实际常规处理工艺重点控制自由氯的投加量等参数.     

氯、氯胺消毒下钱江源水源水消毒副产物形成特征研究

以钱江源水源水为研究对象,以氯、氯胺为消毒方式,研究了不同消毒条件下,三卤甲烷(THMs)、卤乙腈(HANs)、氯代酮(CKs)、二卤乙酸(DHAAs)、三卤乙酸(THAAs)等消毒副产物(DBPs)的形成情况,以便为水务工作者监测钱江源建库前后水质、DBPs形成的变化提供基础数据.结果显示,氯消毒下DBPs的产量比氯胺消毒高出3~7倍甚至1个数量级,但不管是氯消毒还是氯胺消毒,THMs、HAAs形成量均在我国饮用水标准范围内.氯消毒下,大部分DBPs产量为中、碱性条件酸性条件(除了CKs),氯胺消毒则呈现不同的情况(所有DBPs的产量均为p H=6、p H=7p H=8).消毒剂量对所有DBPs形成具有明显的促进作用;溴离子对THMs、DHANs、DHAAs的形成有明显的促进作用.进一步研究表明,钱江源水源水的水质比钱塘江下游九溪水源水好,DBPs形成也较低,某些指标(如有机碳、有机氮、HANs形成量等)甚至比同省水质较好的金兰水库还要好;而且由于其较高的比紫外吸收值(SUVA),DBPs的溴嵌入能力均比九溪水源水、金兰水库低.此外,就目前的钱江源水源水来说,控制消毒剂量(氯、或氯胺)是控制DBPs形成的有效策略.     

A balancing act: Optimizing free chlorine contact time to minimize iodo-DBPs, NDMA, and regulated DBPs in chloraminated drinking water

Many drinking water treatment plants in the U.S. have switched from chlorination to chloramination to lower levels of regulated trihalomethane (THM) and haloacetic acid (HAA) disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water and meet the current regulations. However, chloramination can also produce other highly toxic/carcinogenic, unregulated DBPs: iodo-acids, iodo-THMs, and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). In practice, chloramines are generated by the addition of chlorine with ammonia, and plants use varying amounts of free chlorine contact time prior to ammonia addition to effectively kill pathogens and meet DBP regulations. However, iodo-DBPs and nitrosamines are generally not considered in this balancing of free chlorine contact time. The goal of our work was to determine whether an optimal free chlorine contact time could be established in which iodo-DBPs and NDMA could be minimized, while keeping regulated THMs and HAAs below their regulatory limits. The effect of free chlorine contact time was evaluated for the formation of six iodo-trihalomethanes (iodo-THMs), six iodo-acids, and NDMA during the chloramination of drinking water. Ten different free chlorine contact times were examined for two source waters with different dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and bromide/iodide. For the low DOC water at pH 7 and 8, an optimized free chlorine contact time of up to 1 h could control regulated THMs and HAAs, as well as iodo-DBPs and NDMA. For the high DOC water, a free chlorine contact time of 5 min could control iodo-DBPs and NDMA at both pHs, but the regulated DBPs could exceed the regulations at pH 7.     

Formation potential and analysis of 32 regulated and unregulated disinfection by-products: Two new simplified methods

Water disinfection is an essential process that provides safe water by inactivating pathogens that cause waterborne diseases. However, disinfectants react with organic matter naturally present in water, leading to the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). Multi-analyte methods based on mass spectrometry (MS) are preferred to quantify multiple DBP classes at once however, most require extensive sample pre-treatment and significant resources. In this study, two analytical methods were developed for the quantification of 32 regulated and unregulated DBPs. A purge and trap (P&T) coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was optimized that automated sample pre-treatment and analyzed volatile and semi-volatile compounds, including trihalomethanes (THMs), iodinated trihalomethanes (I-THMs), haloacetonitriles (HANs), haloketones (HKTs) and halonitromethanes (HNMs). LOQs were between 0.02-0.4 µg/L for most DBPs except for 8 analytes that were in the low µg/L range. A second method with liquid chromatography (LC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed for the quantification of 10 haloacetic acids (HAAs) with a simple clean-up and direct injection. The LC-MS/MS direct injection method has the lowest detection limits reported (0.2-0.5 µg/L). Both methods have a simple sample pre-treatment, which make it possible for routine analysis. Hyperchlorination and uniform formation conditions (UFC) formation potential tests with chlorine were evaluated with water samples containing high and low TOC. Hyperchlorination formation potential test maximized THMs and HAAs while UFC maximized HANs. Ascorbic acid was found to be an appropriate quencher for both analytical methods. Disinfected drinking water from four water utilities in Alberta, Canada were also evaluated.     

太湖、钱塘江取水口底泥及周边土壤有机物形成消毒副产物的特征研究

底泥、土壤均是水体有机物的重要来源,但目前相关消毒副产物(DBPs)形成方面的研究偏少.本研究以长三角重要水源地太湖、钱塘江取水口的底泥和周边土壤的浸出液为研究对象,探索氯、臭氧+氯、氯胺、臭氧+氯胺4种消毒方式下,三卤甲烷(THMs)、卤代酮(HKs)、卤乙腈(HANs)、卤代硝基甲烷(HNMs)的形成情况.结果表明,太湖、钱塘江取水口的底泥、周边土壤有机物的芳香度均很低(SUVA254(即比紫外吸光值)2),与腐殖质(Sigma)相比,底泥、土壤有机物不是氯消毒中THMs的重要前驱物,但却是HANs特别是HNMs的重要前驱物.相比氯消毒,氯胺消毒能大幅降低土壤、底泥有机物THMs、HKs、HANs、HNMs的生成量,而且也可抑制含溴DBPs的形成.臭氧预处理大幅提高了氯、氯胺消毒中HKs、HNMs的产量,但对THMs、HANs则不一定.太湖、钱塘江的土壤、底泥存在一定的溴污染,但不管是哪种消毒方式,均是HNMs的溴嵌入因子最大.     

饮用水含氮与含碳消毒副产物的生成潜能及其毒性

消毒副产物生成潜能测试常用于表征水中消毒副产物的前体物含量.不同于三氯甲烷等含碳消毒副产物,二卤代乙腈（DHANs）与二卤代乙酰胺（DHAcAms）等含氮消毒副产物在氯消毒的余氯存在下易分解,并且在氯胺消毒过程中可由氯胺提供氮源生成,因此常用于含碳消毒副产物的生成潜能测试方法（如Krasner提出的测试法）可能无法有效揭示DHANs与DHAcAms的前体物水平.本研究以三氯甲烷和氯醛两种含碳消毒副产物为对比,考察DHANs与DHAcAms在饮用水氯消毒与氯胺消毒过程中不同投氯量与反应时间下的生成量,识别最大生成量对应的消毒条件,以便更好地评估水样中DHANs与DHAcAms的前体物浓度.同时,对消毒过程中生成的这些挥发性消毒副产物进行毒性评价.结果显示,两个水样氯消毒的DHANs与DHAcAms生成量分别为6.19~40.08、1.34~15.75 nmol·mg^-1（mg^-1以TOC计）;氯胺消毒的DHANs与DHAcAms生成量分别为2.63~21.46、18.43~49.99 nmol·mg^-1.Krasner测试法条件下的DHANs与DHAcAms生成量均最低.在投氯量为TOC+8×NH₃-N、反应时间为24 h的氯消毒条件下,氯胺投加量20×TOC、反应时间为3 d的氯胺消毒条件下,两个水样具有最高水平的DHANs与DHAcAms生成量,并且消毒副产物毒性也高于Krasner法测试条件下的毒性水平.因此,氯消毒采用投氯量TOC+8×NH₃-N、反应时间24 h,氯胺消毒采用投加量20×TOC、反应时间3 d的生成潜能测试条件可能更好地揭示水中DHANs和DHAcAms的前体物浓度水平.     

Characteristics of molecular weight distribution of dissolved organic matter in bromide-containing water and disinfection by-product formation properties during treatment processes

The characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and bromide ion concentration have a significant influence on the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). In order to identify the main DBP precursors, DOM was divided into five fractions based on molecular weight (MW), trihalomethane formation potential and haloacetic acid formation potential were determined for fractions, and the change in contents of different fractions and total DBPs during treatment processes (pre-chlorination, coagulation, sand filtration, disinfection) were studied. Moreover, the relationship between bromide concentration and DBP generation characteristics in processes was also analyzed. The results showed that the main DBP precursors were the fraction with MW < 1 kDa and fraction with MW 3−10 kDa, and the DBP''s generation ability of lower molecular weight DOM (< 10 kDa) was higher than that of higher molecular weight DOM. During different processes, pre-chlorination and disinfection had limited effect on removing organics but could alter the MW distribution, and coagulation and filtration could effectively remove organics with higher MW. For DBPs, trihalomethanes (THMs) were mainly generated in pre-chlorination and disinfection, while haloacetic acids (HAAs) were mostly generated during pre-chlorination; coagulation and sand filtration had little effect on THMs but resulted in a slight removal of HAAs. In addition, the results of ANOVA tests suggested that molecular sizes and treatment processes have significant influence on DBP formation. With increasing bromide concentration, the brominated DBPs significantly increased, but the bromine incorporation factor in the processes was basically consistent at each concentration.     

海水淡化超滤-反渗透工艺沿程溴代消毒副产物变化规律

研究了海水淡化超滤-反渗透(UF-RO)工艺沿程有机物和溴代消毒副产物(Br-DBPs)变化特征.该海水中含有较高浓度的Br-(45.6~50.9 mg·L-1)和较多的芳香类化合物[比紫外吸收值SUVA为3.6~6.0 L·(mg·m)-1];色氨酸类芳香族蛋白质、富里酸类有机物和溶解性微生物代谢产物是海水中主要的荧光特征有机物.UF-RO工艺进水海水经Na Cl O消毒后,DBPs的种类和浓度显著增加,且增加的主要为Br-DBPs,其中三溴甲烷(CHBr3)占总三卤甲烷(THMs)的70.48%~91.50%,二溴乙酸(Br2CHCO2H)占总卤乙酸(HAAs)的81.14%~100%,二溴乙腈(C2HBr2N)占总卤乙腈(HANs)的83.77%~87.45%.UF膜对THMs、HAAs和HANs的去除率分别为36.63%~40.39%、73.83%~95.38%和100%.RO膜可以完全去除HAAs,但是对THMs不能完全去除.进水海水的抗雌激素活性为0.35~0.44 mg·L-1,氯消毒后增加了32%~69%.海水淡化UF-RO系统生成的DBPs和其他生物毒性物质最终被截留到了UF浓水和RO浓水中.     

Effect of ferric and bromide ions on the formation and speciation of disinfection byproducts during chlorination

The e ects of ferric ion, pH, and bromide on the formation and distribution of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during chlorination were studied. Two raw water samples from Huangpu River and Yangtze River, two typical drinking water sources of Shanghai, were used for the investigation. Compared with the samples from Huangpu River, the raw water samples from Yangtze River had lower content of total organic carbon (TOC) and ferric ions, but higher bromide concentrations. Under controlled chlorination conditions, four trihalomethanes (THMs), nine haloacetic acids (HAAs), total organic halogen (TOX) and its halogen species fractions, including total organic chlorine (TOCl) and total organic bromide (TOBr), were determined. The results showed that co-existent ferric and bromide ions significantly promoted the formation of total THMs and HAAs for both raw water samples. Higher concentration of bromide ions significantly changed the speciation of the formed THMs and HAAs. There was an obvious shift to brominated species, which might result in a more adverse influence on the safety of drinking water. The results also indicated that high levels of bromide ions in raw water samples produced higher percentages of unknown TOBr.     

饮用水消毒副产物分析及相关研究进展

饮用水消毒副产物（DBPs）是消毒剂和一些天然有机物（NOM）反应生成的化合物,主要包括三卤甲烷（THMs）、卤代G@（HAAs）、卤代乙腈（HANs）和致诱变化舍物（MX）4类。本文针对氯、氯胺、二氧化氯、臭氧4种主要消毒方式产生的消毒副产物,讨论了有关分析技术的发展过程,从DBPs的前处理技术、分析技术等角度,介绍了DBPs研究领域近期所取得的进展,并展望了今后研究的发展方向。     

Formation potentials of typical disinfection byproducts and changes of genotoxicity for chlorinated tertiary effluent pretreated by ozone

The effects of ozonation on the formation potential of typical disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and the changes of genotoxicity during post chlorination of tertiary effluent from a sewage treatment plant were investigated. Ozonation enhanced the yields of all detected chlorine DBPs except CHCl3. At a chlorine dose of 5 mg/L, the three brominated THMs and five HAAs increased, while chloroform decreased with the increase of ozone dose from 0 to 10 mg/L (ozone dose in consumption base). At a chlorine dose of 10 ...     

Formation of iodo-trihalomethanes, iodo-haloacetic acids, and haloacetaldehydes during chlorination and chloramination of iodine containing waters in laboratory controlled reactions

Iodine containing disinfection by-products (I-DBPs) and haloacetaldehydes (HALs) are emerging disinfection by-product (DBP) classes of concern. The former due to its increased potential toxicity and the latter because it was found to be the third most relevant DBP class in mass in a U.S. nationwide drinking water study. These DBP classes have been scarcely investigated, and this work was performed to further explore their formation in drinking water under chlorination and chloramination scenarios. In order to do this, iodo-trihalomethanes (I-THMs), iodo-haloacetic acids (I-HAAs) and selected HALs (mono-HALs and di-HALs species, including iodoacetaldehyde) were investigated in DBP mixtures generated after chlorination and chloramination of different water matrices containing different levels of bromide and iodide in laboratory controlled reactions. Results confirmed the enhancement of I-DBP formation in the presence of monochloramine. While I-THMs and I-HAAs contributed almost equally to total I-DBP concentrations in chlorinated water, I-THMs contributed the most to total I-DBP levels in the case of chloraminated water. The most abundant and common I-THM species generated were bromochloroiodomethane, dichloroiodomethane, and chlorodiiodomethane. Iodoacetic acid and chloroiodoacetic acid contributed the most to the total I-HAA concentrations measured in the investigated disinfected water. As for the studied HALs, dihalogenated species were the compounds that predominantly formed under both investigated treatments.     

Disinfection byproduct regulatory compliance surrogates and bromide-associated risk

Natural and anthropogenic factors can alter bromide concentrations in drinking water sources. Increasing source water bromide concentrations increases the formation and alters the speciation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) formed during drinking water treatment. Brominated DBPs are more toxic than their chlorinated analogs, and thus have a greater impact on human health. However, DBPs are regulated based on the mass sum of DBPs within a given class (e.g., trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids), not based on species-specific risk or extent of bromine incorporation. The regulated surrogate measures are intended to protect against not only the species they directly represent, but also against unregulated DBPs that are not routinely measured. Surrogates that do not incorporate effects of increasing bromide may not adequately capture human health risk associated with drinking water when source water bromide is elevated. The present study analyzes trihalomethanes (THMs), measured as TTHM, with varying source water bromide concentrations, and assesses its correlation with brominated THM, TTHM risk and species-specific THM concentrations and associated risk. Alternative potential surrogates are evaluated to assess their ability to capture THM risk under different source water bromide concentration conditions. The results of the present study indicate that TTHM does not adequately capture risk of the regulated species when source water bromide concentrations are elevated, and thus would also likely be an inadequate surrogate for many unregulated brominated species. Alternative surrogate measures, including THM3 and the bromodichloromethane concentration, are more robust surrogates for species-specific THM risk at varying source water bromide concentrations.     

不同预氧化剂对长江原水氯(胺)化DBPs生成潜能的影响

以取自上海市杨树浦水厂的长江原水为研究对象,对比分析了3种常见预氧化剂二氧化氯(ClO2)、高锰酸钾(KMnO4)及氯(Cl2)预氧化对削减氯化和氯胺化消毒副产物(DBPs)生成潜能的效果情况.氯化培养实验结果表明,3种预氧化剂的处理对DBPs总量的去除效果均不显著,经ClO2、Cl2及KMnO4作用后可分别削减8.4%、5.7%及3.9%,效果为ClO2>Cl2>KMnO4.对于长江原水使用氯化消毒时,采用ClO2作为预氧化剂可取得对消毒副产物较好的去除效果.氯胺化培养实验结果表明,3种预氧化剂处理对长江原水氯胺化DBPs的生成潜能影响有较大差异,经ClO2和KMnO4作用后可分别削减18.1%及4.1%,而预氯化后则增高12.3%,对于长江原水使用氯胺化消毒时,采用ClO2作为预氧化剂可取得对消毒副产物较为明显的去除效果.同时,应尽量避免使用预氯化后加氯胺化的组合,以防止在水处理过程中生成更多的DBPs而影响出水水质.     

水中典型含氮有机物氯化生成消毒副产物的潜能研究

选取了受污染原水中广泛存在的12种含氮有机物（除草剂、杀虫剂、氨基酸、工业品等）,开展了氯化和氯胺化培养生成典型消毒副产物的实验,目的是通过对水中脲类除草剂、嗪类除草剂和其他含氮化合物培养生成不同消毒副产物的生成量,讨论不同种类含氮化合物生成含碳和含氮消毒副产物规律以及考察不同消毒副产物的可能前体物.研究发现,脲类除草...     

Formation potentials of typical DBPs and changes of genotoxicity for chlorinated tertiary effluent pretreated by ozone

The effects of ozonation on the formation potential of typical disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and the changes of genotoxicity during post chlorination of tertiary effluent from a sewage treatment plant were investigated. Ozonation enhanced the yields of all detected chlorine DBPs except CHCl3. At a chlorine dose of 5 mg/L, the three brominated THMs and five HAAs increased, while chloroform decreased with the increase of ozone dose from 0 to 10 mg/L (ozone dose in consumption base). At a chlorine dose of 10 mg/L, the two mixed bromochloro species THMs and two dominant HAAs (DCAA and TCAA) firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of ozone dose, with the turning point approximately occurring at an ozone dose of 5 mg/L. The genotoxicity detected using umu test, on the other hand, was removed from 7 μg 4-NQO/L to a negligible level by ozonation under an ozone dose of 5 mg/L. Chlorination could further remove the genotoxicity to some extent. It was found that SUVA (UV absorbance divided by DOC concentration) might be used as an indicative parameter for monitoring the removal of genotoxicity during the oxidation.     

Formation potentials of typical disinfection byproducts and changes of genotoxicity for chlorinated tertiary e uent pretreated by ozone

The effects of ozonation on the formation potential of typical disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and the changes of genotoxicity during post chlorination of tertiary effluent from a sewage treatment plant were investigated. Ozonation enhanced the yields of all detected chlorine DBPs except CHCl3. At a chlorine dose of 5 mg/L, the three brominated THMs and five HAAs increased, while chloroform decreased with the increase of ozone dose from 0 to 10 mg/L (ozone dose in consumption base). At a chlorine dose of 10 mg/L, the two mixed bromochloro species THMs and two dominant HAAs (DCAA and TCAA) firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of ozone dose, with the turning point approximately occurring at an ozone dose of 5 mg/L. The genotoxicity detected using umu test, on the other hand, was removed from 7 μg 4-NQO/L to a negligible level by ozonation under an ozone dose of 5 mg/L. Chlorination could further remove the genotoxicity to some extent. It was found that SUVA (UV absorbance divided by DOC concentration) might be used as an indicative parameter for monitoring the removal of genotoxicity during the oxidation.     

Genotoxicity of drinking water treated with different disinfectants and effects of disinfection conditions detected by umu-test

The genotoxicity of drinking water treated with 6 disinfection methods and the effects of disinfection conditions were investigated using the umu-test. The pretreatment procedure of samples for the umu-test was optimized for drinking water analysis. The results of the umu-test were in good correlation with those of the Ames-test. The genotoxicity and production of haloacetic acids (HAAs) were the highest for chlorinated samples. UV + chloramination is the safest disinfection method from the aspects of genotoxicity, HAA production and inactivation effects. For chloramination, the effects of the mass ratio of Cl₂ to N of chloramine on genotoxicity were also studied. The changes of genotoxicity were different from those of HAA production, which implied that HAA production cannot represent the genotoxic potential of water. The genotoxicity per chlorine decay of chlorination and chloramination had similar trends, indicating that the reaction of organic matters and chlorine made a great contribution to the genotoxicity. The results of this study are of engineering significance for optimizing the operation of waterworks.     

Disinfection byproduct formation from algal organic matters after ozonation or ozone combined with activated carbon treatment with subsequent chlorination

Algal organic matter (AOM), including extracellular organic matter (EOM) and intracellular organic matter (IOM) from algal blooms, is widely accepted as essential precursors of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). This study evaluated the effect of ozonation or ozone combined with activated carbon (O₃-AC) treatment on characteristic alternation and DBP formation with subsequent chlorination of Chlorella sp.. The effects of pH and bromide concentration on DBP formation by ozonation or O₃-AC treatment were also investigated. Results showed that the potential formation of DBPs might be attributed to ozonation, but these DBP precursors could be further removed by activated carbon (AC) treatment. Moreover, the formation of target DBPs was controlled at acidic pH by alleviating the reactions between chlorine and AOM. Besides, the bromide substitution factor (BSF) value of trihalomethanes (THMs) from EOM and IOM remained constant after AC treatment. However, THM precursors could be significantly decreased by AC treatment. The above results indicated that O₃-AC was a feasible treatment method for algal-impacted water.