Engineering

Water treatment

Organic chemicals

Waste management

Environmental engineering

Organic chemistry

Environmental chemistry

Environmental science

Chemistry

Water disinfection

Chlorine

Chemical Engineering Journal

The formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during the water disinfection process has attracted extensive attention due to their potential toxicity. Emerging organic micropollutants (EOMPs) are now ubiquitous in the water environments, and they have been confirmed that could be the precursors for many DBPs during chlorine-based disinfection processes (Cl-DPs). Although there are increasing studies on the formation of DBPs from EOMPs during Cl-DPs, there is still a lack of review paper on this hotspot. In this review, the typical Cl-DPs and their corresponding mechanisms were introduced first. Then, the DBPs formation in the presence of different EOMPs (e.g., pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and brominated flame retardants) during Cl-DPs were discussed and highlighted, including the pathways, mechanisms, and influencing factors. Moreover, the DBPs detection and control methods have also been summarized and discussed. Finally, future studies and challenges of controlling DBPs formation were proposed. This review gave a comprehensive understanding of DBPs formation from EOMPs during Cl-DPs, and more studies are needed in the future to balance the EOMPs removal against corresponding DBPs formation during disinfection processes.

Disinfection byproducts formation from emerging organic micropollutants during chlorine-based disinfection processes