Summary
Drinking water dams collect untreated water for processing into drinking water. Both the volume of untreated water and its quality are important criteria. In contrast to models based on quantity, however, few models have previously been used that enable good forecasting of quality.
In addition to organic carbon (OC), organic nitrogen (ON) is a particularly important parameter for assessing the water quality. It is a growth-inhibiting nutrient for micro-organisms, whose occurrence needs to be kept as low as possible to ensure effective treatment and good quality. In addition, compounds containing nitrogen can lead to the formation of strong-smelling and harmful by-products during disinfection using chlorine.
Therefore, this subproject aims to develop a liquid chromatographic (LC) ON detector based on an LC OC detector. Individual water constituents containing nitrogen can be analysed in terms of their size and quantity using a separating column. The study results obtained with the instrument to be developed will then be incorporated into modelling of the water quality and water treatment.
Results:
- The combination of OC and ON detection makes division of biopolymers (BPs) into their chemical substance classes possible for the first time, e.g. poly polysaccharides or proteins.
- In contrast to the protein content, the BP concentration is a good marker for stratification behaviour in a dam.
- In the BP fraction, a relatively high protein content of 20 - 55% was determined. This comparatively high value indicates that the BPs have entered predominantly through inflows.
- There are numerous applications for the new detector developed, including detection of problematic urea in even very small quantities in ultra-pure water for the semiconductor industry.
