Occurrence of dissolved black carbon in source water and disinfection byproducts formation during chlorination

Dissolved black carbon (DBC), the water-soluble component of black carbon, which is formed by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels or biochar, takes up about 10% of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in river water. However, the distribution of DBC in water environment especially in source water is not clear and as an important component of DOM, whether DBC can produce disinfection byproducts (DBPs) like other DOM during disinfection remains unknown. In this study, the DBC concentrations in seventeen source water samples from East China were measured. The concentrations of DBC in the source water samples ranged from 60 to 270 μg/L, which were positively correlated with UV254 absorbance and chemical oxygen demand. The levels of DBC in wet season were higher than that in dry season. The average concentrations of DBC in different types of source water samples followed the order of reservoir > canal > lake > river. DBC could only be removed by 20% during the simulated coagulation, and further generate different categories of DBPs during chlorination, among which the concentrations of haloacetic acids (HAA) were the highest. The results indicated that DBC widely distributes in source water and is an important precursor of HAAs and THMs during chlorination.