Taste-and-Odor Problems Associated With Chlorine Dioxide [#405]

Ordering Information:
ORDER NUMBER: 90589
DATE AVAILABLE: Summer 1991

Prepared by Andrea M. Dietrich and Robert C. Hoehn, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

BACKGROUND
This research was undertaken to investigate the cause(s) and control(s) for taste-and-odor problems associated
with the use of chlorine dioxide in drinking water treatment. Utilities commonly employ chlorine dioxide instead of
chlorine as a pretreatment for oxidation and disinfection, then post-treat with chlorine or chloramines to provide a
residual disinfectant in the distribution system. Use of chlorine dioxide avoids the formation of trihalomethanes
(THMs).

Unfortunately, numerous utilities throughout the United States have encountered customer complaints of offensive
tastes and odors when chlorine dioxide is used. Customers randomly located throughout the distribution system
specifically described their water as smelling "chlorinous," "kerosene-like," and "cat-urine-like." Lowering the dose
to below 1 mg/L would sometimes eliminate the odor problems, although this low dose was occasionally insufficient
for the desired level of pretreatment. Thus, although chlorine dioxide is a viable solution for controlling THMs, it is
not a panacea due to the associated taste-and-odor problems.

APPROACH
At the onset of this project, three major research areas were defined and the appropriate experiments planned.
The first consisted of performing field studies. A research team, trained in chemical analysis and taste-and-odor
assessment, visited utilities that were experiencing taste-and-odor episodes associated with chlorine dioxide. The
team analyzed samples for organic and inorganic chemicals that could potentially cause the taste and odors.

The second phase of the research involved surveying water utilities that used chlorine dioxide for information
related to their water treatment practices, water quality data, and odor problems. The information obtained was
entered into a large database for compilation and interpretation.

The final phase of the research investigated processes for reducing the formation of tastes and odors. Since
chlorite (a by-product of disinfection with chlorine dioxide) has been implicated as a cause of tastes and odors, the
final phase of the project consisted of laboratory studies to investigate the reduction of chlorite in water by
application of powdered activated carbon (PAC).

RESULTS
The field studies yielded the following results: (1) Organic compounds responsible for kerosene-like and cat-urine-
like odors during times of chlorine dioxide application could not be detected or identified in water leaving the plant,
entering the customers' service connections from the distribution system, or in the customers' residential piping.
(2) Strong chlorinous odors were caused by chlorine dioxide, which reformed in the distribution system by
mechanisms unknown and then escaped into the air when the tap was opened. (3) None of the organic chemicals
identified in homes experiencing odor problems could be associated exclusively with the cat-urine-like or kerosene-
like odors. (4) Kerosene-like and cat-urine-like odors could be produced in homes with new carpet by volatilizing
chlorine dioxide.
Thirty-five utilities that use chlorine dioxide responded to the survey. Their responses indicate chlorine dioxide was
applied primarily for THM precursor control, with the next most common reason being disinfection. Many utilities
used chlorine dioxide on a year-round basis, although the number of utilities applying chlorine dioxide increased
during the summer months. Both the types of odors and their intensity increased with application of chlorine
dioxide at the water treatment plant. Taste-and-odor problems were not correlated with raw- or finished-water-
quality characteristics, but were associated with the presence of new carpeting in the customers' homes.

Powdered activated carbon (PAC), used at dosages normally applied during treatment at conventional alum
filtration plants, probably will not remove residual chlorite from drinking water effectively. Dosages of 10 mg/L
PAC, when enmeshed in alum floc, were only marginally effective. Dosages of 50 mg/L, on the other hand,
removed about 70 percent of the chlorite in four hours. However, that dosage would be impractical for routine
treatment plant use.

The most promising results using PAC were obtained during studies of simulated solids-contact clarifiers. Chlorite
was removed effectively from a continuously fed solution containing between 9 and 10 mg/L chlorite. An
unexpected result was lack of interference with chlorite reduction by PAC from naturally occurring organic matter
dissolved in the test waters. In these experiments, as well as in studies conducted in organic-free water, the floc-
enmeshed PAC performed better than PAC that was freely suspended in the aqueous media. Reasons for
enhancement of chlorite reduction by PAC enmeshed in an alum floc are unknown; chlorite reduction by alum floc
alone was virtually nil.

One problem that was noted was the formation of chlorate when chlorite reacted with PAC at pH values below 7.
Work remains to determine the severity of this problem.