Characterization of chlorine dioxide as disinfectant for the removal of low concentration microcystins

Microcystins, which represents one kind of cancerogenic organic compounds, is abundant in eutrophication water. The effects of reaction factors on chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) for removal of low-concentration Microcystin-LR, Microcystin-RR, and Microcystin-YR in water as well as the reaction mechanisms was investigated by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that MC-LR, MC-RR, and MC-YR could be efficiently decomposed by ClO₂. The degradation efficiency was shown positively correlated to the concentration of ClO₂ and reaction time; while the effect of reaction temperature and pH is slight. The kinetic constants and activation energies of the reaction of MC-LR, MC-RR, and MC-YR with ClO₂ are determined as 459.89, 583.15, 488.43 L·(mol·min)⁻¹ and 64.78, 53.01, 59.15 kJ·mol⁻¹, respectively. As indicated by high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) analysis, degradation should be accomplished via destruction of Adda group by oxidation, with the formation of dihydroxy substituendums as end products. This study has provided a fundamental demonstration of ClO₂ serving as oxidizing disinfectant to eliminate microcystins from raw water source.