Evaluation of Alternative-to-Gas Chlorination Disinfection Technologies in the Treatment of Maltese Potable Water

For years, gas chlorination has been the adopted disinfection technology in the treatment of Maltese potable water. Despite its strong bacterial inactivation potential, traditional chlorination generates high free chlorine residual and disinfection by-products that compromise the sensory attributes of drinking water and deter the population from consuming it. We have identified plausible alternative-to-gas-chlorination technologies for its treatment, with the aim of (a) reducing the disinfectant and/or chlorination dose used for microbial inactivation, and (b) attenuating the negative impact of putative disinfection by-products on the water's organolepsis, while safeguarding its safe-for-consumption characteristics. We have subjected ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation, hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), ClO2 generation, and electrochlorination (NaClO) to bacteriological and physicochemical bench-scale studies to assess their bacterial inactivation efficacy and by-product generation propensity, respectively. All the tested technologies except HC achieved a minimum of 3 Log(10) microbial inactivation, with NaClO and ClO2 appearing more effective over neutral and alkaline pH conditions, respectively. In addition, we have identified synergistic effects of cavitation on UVC for Enterococcus faecalis inactivation, stemming from enhancement in oxidative stress. Moderate reductions in the total dissolved solid content and Ca2+ hardness of the tested water also emerged following prolonged cavitation. For feasibility studies, the performance of the technologies was further evaluated on the following areas: (a) implementation, (b) practicality, (c) adaptability, (d) integration, (e) environment and sustainability, and (f) cost and effect. Electrochemical generation of NaClO emerged as the most promising technology for further on-site work, followed by ClO2 and UVC.