N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a potent carcinogen that is frequently detected nitrosamine from water chloramination. This study investigated the occurrence of NDMA and its potential precursor, ranitidine (RNT), in four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Additionally, the effects of chloramination methods and oxidative pretreatment on the NDMA formation potential (FP) were assessed. Concentration levels of NDMA in the WWTPs waters ranged from 2.5 (detection limit) to 72.6 ng/L, while RNT values ranged from 1.32 to 186.9 ng/L. Further study indicated that the NDMA-FPs from chloraminated wastewaters varied between 36.2 and 227.8 ng/L. Nonetheless, chloramination methods and oxidative pretreatment significantly impacted the NDMA-FP levels. For example, breakpoint chlorination and stepwise chloramination promoted NDMA-FP when compared to preformed chloramination, which could be attributed to the formation of dichloramine and chlorine species. In contrast, prechlorination was found to effectively mitigate NDMA-FP, based on integrated ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Notably, UV irradiation with free chlorine (UV/Cl2) or permanganate (UV/MnO4 -) reduced NDMA-FP by up to 70%. This study suggests that UV/MnO4 - and UV/Cl2 may be used as alternative mitigation strategies for reducing nitrosamine-FP in the water treatment process.

This study interrogated multi-layer heterojunction anodes were interrogated for potential applications to water treatment. The multi-layer anodes with outer layers of SnO2/Bi2O3 and/or TiO2/Bi2O3 onto IrO2/Ta2O5 electrodes were prepared by thermal decomposition and characterized in terms of reactive chlorine species (RCS) generation in 50 mM NaCl solutions. The IrO2/Ta2O5 layer on Ti substrate (Anode 1) primarily served as an electron shuttle. The current efficiency (CE) and energy efficiency (EE) for RCS generation were significantly enhanced by the further coating of SnO2/Bi2O3 (Anode 2) and TiO2/Bi2O3 (Anode 3) layers onto the Anode 1, despite moderate losses in electrical conductivity and active surface area. The CE of the Anode 3 was found to show the highest RCS generation rate, whereas the multi-junction architecture (Anode 4, sequential coating of IrO2/Ta2O5, SnO2/Bi2O3, and TiO2/Bi2O3) showed marginal improvement. The microscopic observations indicated that the outer TiO2/Bi2O3 could form a crack-free layer by an incorporation of anatase TiO2 particles, potentially increasing the service life of the anode. The results of this study are expected to broaden the usage of dimensionally stable anodes in water treatment with an enhanced RCS generation and lifetime.

N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a class of disinfection byproducts and a frequently detected nitrosamine with carcinogenic potentials. This review summarizes NDMA precursors, their formation mechanisms in chloraminated water, and mitigation strategies. Understanding the formation mechanism and characteristics of precursors is essential for developing a mitigation strategy. Dimethylamine (DMA), the most widely studied NDMA precursor, has an NDMA molar yield up to 3%. In comparison, a subset of tertiary amines, e.g., pharmaceuticals, generate up to 90% upon chloramination. Potent NDMA precursors, are characterized by their negative partial charge, low planarity values and molecular weight, and high bond length and pKa values. A nucleophilic substitution of tertiary amine on chloramine is a key reason for the high NDMA yield from the most potent NDMA precursors. The distribution and fate of NDMA in surface water, aquifers, and its formation in the distribution system can be mitigated through two strategies: (1) degrading or/removing NDMA after its formation and (2) pre-treatment of its precursor’s prior chloramination.