Effect of Ammonia and Chloramine Pretreatment during the Ozonation of a Colored Groundwater with Elevated Bromide

Ozone coupled with pre-chloramination was evaluated as an effective color removal and bromate control method for groundwater at Mesa Water's Well #8. A modified solution ozone test procedure was employed to simulate the sidestream ozone injection. Satisfactory color removal (<10 PtCo CU) was achieved with 2 mg/L of ozone in the presence or absence of preformed monochloramine or ammonia. While bromate formation was reduced by 67% and 83% with 0.3 and 0.6 mg/L of ammonia-N alone, respectively, 68% and 92% of bromate formation was suppressed with 1.0 and 2.0 mg/L of monochloramine as Cl2, respectively. Only the pre-treatment with 2.0 mg/L of monochloramine provided sufficient bromate control to meet its maximum contaminant level of 10 μg/L. UV and fluorescence analyses showed effective destruction of color-causing organics by ozone in the presence of preformed monochloramine.