Decomposition of dimethyl polysulfides under solar irradiation in oxic aqueous solutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamir Buchshtav ◽  
Alexey Kamyshny

Environmental contextThe quality of drinking water can be greatly compromised by the presence of dimethyl polysulfides. We studied the rate and mechanism of decomposition of dimethyl polysulfides in aqueous solution under solar irradiation, and found that they decompose photochemically in seconds to minutes, i.e. much faster than under dark conditions. These results suggest that photochemical pathways of dimethyl polysulfide decomposition may prevail in euphotic zones of natural aquatic systems. AbstractThe presence of malodorous dimethyl polysulfides (DMPSs) has been documented in marine and limnic systems as well as in tap water distribution systems. These compounds compromise the quality of drinking water. Under oxic conditions and in the absence of radiation, DMPSs with n ≥ 3 sulfur atoms disproportionate into DMPSs with n+1 and n−1 sulfur atoms, and, finally, to dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) and S8. DMDS, in turn, decomposes to methyl mercaptan (MT) and methanesulfinic acid. Under these conditions, the half-lives of DMPSs vary from months for dimethyl pentasulfide (DM5S) to hundreds of thousands of years for DMDS. In this work, we studied the kinetics and mechanisms of the decomposition reactions of DMPSs with 2–5 sulfur atoms in aqueous solutions in the presence of oxygen and under exposure to solar radiation. The quantum yields of decomposition of DMPSs with 2, 3, 4 and 5 sulfur atoms do not depend on either the concentration of DMPSs or pH, and are 40±10, 2.0±0.2, 35±10 and 10±4 respectively. The quantum yields, which are higher than unity, suggest that under exposure to solar radiation the photochemical decomposition of DMPSs proceeds by a radical chain reaction mechanism. Half-lives of DMPSs in oxic aquatic solutions exposed to solar radiation under a very clear atmosphere and a solar elevation angle of 90° were calculated from the quantum yields and were found to be as low as 43±13s for DMDS, 40±4s for dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), 2.1±0.6s for dimethyl tetrasulfide (DM4S) and 4.2±1.7s for DM5S.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamir Buchshtav ◽  
Alon Amrani ◽  
Alexey Kamyshny Jr

Environmental contextDimethyl disulfide, a malodorous product of decomposing organic matter, can severely compromise the quality of drinking water. We studied the abiotic decomposition of dimethyl disulfide in aqueous solutions under dark, oxygenated conditions and found that the half-life varied from thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. The results indicate that in natural aquatic systems the decomposition of dimethyl disulfide is governed by other chemical, photochemical and microbial processes. AbstractThe presence of malodorous dimethyl polysulfides (DMPSs) has been documented in limnic systems as well as in tap water distribution systems. These compounds compromise the quality of drinking water. In this work, we studied kinetics and mechanisms of the decomposition reactions of the most abundant and stable DMPS, dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in aqueous solutions in the presence of oxygen and absence of light. It was found that DMDS reacts with a hydroxyl ion and its decomposition leads to the formation of methyl mercaptan and other products. The decomposition reaction is of the first order with respect to both the concentration of DMDS and the activity of the hydroxyl ion, with an activation energy of 90±8kJmol−1. The half-life of DMDS under abiotic, dark, oxic conditions was observed to vary from thousands to hundreds of thousands of years depending on the pH and temperature. These results indicate that DMDS is decomposed by other chemical, photochemical and microbially-mediated pathways.


Author(s):  
Francesca Serio ◽  
Lucia Martella ◽  
Giovanni Imbriani ◽  
Adele Idolo ◽  
Francesco Bagordo ◽  
...  

Background: The quality of water for human consumption is an objective of fundamental importance for the defense of public health. Since the management of networks involves many problems of control and efficiency of distribution, the Water Safety Plan (WSP) was introduced to address these growing problems. Methods: WSP was applied to three companies in which the water resource assumes central importance: five water kiosks, a third-range vegetable processing company, and a residence and care institution. In drafting the plan, the terms and procedures designed and tested for the management of urban distribution systems were applied to safeguard the resource over time. Results: The case studies demonstrated the reliability of the application of the model even to small drinking-water systems, even though it involved a greater effort in analyzing the incoming water, the local intended use, and the possibilities for managing the containment of the dangers to which it is exposed. This approach demonstrates concrete effectiveness in identifying and mitigating the dangers of altering the quality of water. Conclusions: Thanks to the WSP applied to small drinking-water systems, we can move from management that is focused mainly on verifying the conformity of the finished product to the creation of a global risk assessment and management system that covers the entire water supply chain.


Author(s):  
Wenjin Xue ◽  
Christopher W. K. Chow ◽  
John van Leeuwen

Abstract The bacterial regrowth potential (BRP) method was utilised to indirectly measure the assimilable organic carbon (AOC) as an indicator for the assessment of the microbial regrowth potential in drinking water distribution systems. A model using various microbial growth parameters was developed in order to standardise the experimental interpretation for BRP measurement. This study used 82 experimental BRP data sets of water samples collected from the water treatment plant to locations (customer taps) in the distribution system. The data were used to model the BRP process (growth curve) by a data fitting procedure and to obtain a best-fitted equation. Statistical assessments and model validation for evaluating the equation obtained by fitting these 82 sets of data were conducted, and the results show average R2 values were 0.987 for treated water samples (collected at the plant prior to chlorination) and 0.983 for tap water (collected at the customer taps). The F values obtained from the F-test are all exceeded their corresponding F critical values, and the results from the t-test also showed a good outcome. These results indicate this model would be successfully applied in modelling BRP in drinking water supply systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Huda AlFannakh ◽  
Heba Abdallah ◽  
S. S. Ibrahim ◽  
Basma Souayeh

Three ultrafiltration membranes were prepared using phase separation techniques. The membranes were characterized by scan electron microscope, porosity, pore size distribution measurement, and mechanical properties. The membrane performance was carried out using synthetic solutions from humic acid and tap water to express the contaminated drinking water. The polyvinylidene difluoride (M2) has the highest tensile strength 33.2 MPa with elongation of 52.3%, while polyacrylonitrile (M3) has the lowest mechanical properties, tensile strength 16.4 MPa with elongation of 42.7%. Polyethersulfone membrane (M1) provides the highest removal of humic acid, which was 99.5, 98.8, and 98.2% using feed concentrations 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 g/l, respectively, while M3 provides the highest permeate flux which was 250, 234.4, and 201.4 l/m2 h using feed concentrations 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 g/l, respectively. Analysis of water samples indicates that the prepared membranes can be used to treat the contaminated drinking water which produced the high quality of drinking water after treatment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayeh Abera ◽  
Mulugeta Kibret ◽  
Goraw Goshu ◽  
Mulat Yimer

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the bacterial quality and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Enterobacteriaceae from drinking water in Bahir Dar city. A total of 140 water samples were collected in the wet and dry periods from springs (n = 4), reservoirs (n = 10) and private tap water at households (n = 126). Bacteriological analysis of water was conducted using multiple tube method. Overall, 21.4%, 18.6% and 17.8% of drinking water samples had total coliforms (TC), faecal coliforms (FC) and Escherichia coli, respectively. All spring water samples and 29.2% of private tap water had the highest TC load (18 most probable number/100 mL, 95% CI: 100). For FC, 81.4% of the drinking water supplies tested complied with both World Health Organization and Ethiopian Standards. High levels of resistance (98–100%) were observed for ampicillin by Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All P. aeruginosa isolates and 20 (66.7%) of E. coli revealed multiple drug resistance. Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa isolates exhibited high levels of antimicrobial resistance. The bacterial quality of drinking water in Bahir Dar city was poor. Microbial surveillance and monitoring with periodic assessment on physical integrity of the water pipelines need to be undertaken.


1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moyasar T. Yahya ◽  
Lee K. Landeen ◽  
Maria C. Messina ◽  
Susan M. Kutz ◽  
Richard Schulze ◽  
...  

As an alternative disinfectant to chlorination, electrolytically generated copper:silver (400 and 40 μg/L copper and silver, respectively) with and without free chlorine (0.3 mg/L) was evaluated over a period of 4 weeks in indoor and outdoor water systems (100 L tap water with natural body flora and urine). Numbers of total coliform, pseudomonas, and staphylococci were all less than drinking water standards in systems treated with copper:silver and free chlorine and systems treated with free chlorine alone (1.0 mg/L). No significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in bacterial numbers were observed between systems with copper:silver and free chlorine and those with free chlorine alone. Overall, free-chlorine treatments (0.3 or 1.0 mg/L) showed significantly lower heterotrophic plate numbers than those without free chlorine. When challenged with a natural Staphylococcus sp. isolate, water with copper:silver and free chlorine had a 2.4 log10 reduction in bacterial numbers within 2 min, while free chlorine alone or copper:silver alone showed 1.5 and 0.03 log10 reductions, respectively. Addition of copper:silver to water systems may allow the concentration of free chlorine to be reduced while still providing comparable sanitary quality of the water. Key words: disinfection, water, copper, silver, chlorine.


2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel R. Kassenga

The consumption of bottled and plastic-bagged drinking water in Tanzania has increased largely because of the deteriorating quality of tap water. It is uncertain whether these water products are safe for drinking. In this study, the microbiological quality of bottled and plastic-bagged drinking water sold in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was investigated. One hundred and thirty samples representing 13 brands of bottled water collected from shops, supermarkets and street vendors were analysed for total coliform and faecal coliform organisms as well as heterotrophic bacteria. These were compared with 61 samples of tap water. Heterotrophic bacteria were detected in 92% of the bottled water samples analysed. Total and faecal coliform bacteria were present in 4.6% and 3.6%, respectively, of samples analysed with a tendency for higher contamination rates in plastic-bagged drinking water. Microbiological quality of tap water was found to be worse compared with bottled water, with 49.2% and 26.2% of sampling points showing the presence of total coliform and faecal coliform organisms, respectively. The results suggest caution and vigilance to avert outbreaks of waterborne diseases from these types of drinking water.


Biofilms ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Skraber ◽  
J. Schijven ◽  
C. Gantzer ◽  
A. M. de Roda Husman

Biofilms in drinking-water distribution systems may accumulate human pathogenic viruses. Viruses that attach to biofilm are removed from the water phase improving the water quality. However, if released in slough, it may still present a risk of infection. This review describes the available data on the presence of pathogenic viruses in drinking-water biofilms. First, biofilms of distribution systems potentially contribute to viral contamination of tap water only if infectious viruses are present initially in the water, which has been shown in several recent studies. However, only one out of three field studies showed the presence of infectious enteroviruses in natural biofilms from drinking-water networks. The presence of pathogenic viruses in biofilms points to the ability of these viruses to attach to biofilms. This has also been shown in pilot-scale studies in which bacteriophages and vaccine poliovirus strains were spiked into water and could be eluted from artificial biofilms. Reported attachment rates vary greatly and may depend on many factors such as the biofilm characteristics, the virus strain and the efficiency of viral recovery from biofilms. One study reported biphasic viral inactivation in biofilms with rapid initial inactivation followed by slow inactivation, implying that some of the attached viruses are able to remain infectious for a longer time. In several laboratory experiments, virus attachment to biofilms has been reported under various conditions; however, although detachment of sloughs in distribution systems has been observed, the presence of viruses in these sloughs was not studied. Here, we discuss the possible presence of infectious pathogenic viruses in sloughs; the extent to which these will pose a health risk remains to be investigated.


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (9) ◽  
pp. 861-864
Author(s):  
Tatiana P. Fedichkina ◽  
L. G. Solenova ◽  
I. E. Zykova ◽  
S. V. German ◽  
A. V. Modestova ◽  
...  

There are considered special social and economic aspects of the epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori. These aspects acquired the particular importance for the last time due to the fact that the provision of the people with pure water has been becoming the focus of the attention of geopolitical and socio-economic interests in a number of countries. The availability ofpure drinking water serves a marker of the socio-economic state of the territory and the population living there. In Russia where different climatic conditions are deposited by considerable regional differences in the conditions of communal services caused both by various level of the socio-economic development of the territory, the supplementation with pure drinking water serves as the social determinant of the ecological conditions of the population’s life. This particularly has impact on the unfeasible technical state of the water distribution systems, microorganism ecology of which can substantially affect public health. The performed by authors a specialized screening ofpresented at the official web site of the joint-stock company «Mosvodokanal» current data concerning the quality of drinking water consumed by 2500 Moscovites, tested for the Helicobacter pylori infection revealed no deviations from the sanitary standards in the water received by the consumers. Along with that, the comparison of the map documents of the distribution of the Helicobacter pylori infection in Moscow with the distribution of citizens’ complaints of the decline of the quality of tap water has revealed a territorial fastening of the high values of the population infection rate of n^ylori and the urban sites with the greatest number of complaints. In the microbial ecology of water-distribution systems there are tightly aligned problems of their epidemiological safety, technical state and economic damage caused by corrosion as a result of microbiotic activity. In contrast to acute bacterial and viral infections which are deemed of the greatest importance when assessing the sanitary condition of water sources and water-distribution systems, the consequences of infection with H. pylori may not be manifestedfor a long time but some years later they may be manifested as serious chronic diseases (from gastritis to adenocarcinoma of the stomach and a wide range of extraintestinal pathologies), which causes great social and economic losses. Thus, the socio-economic aspect of the epidemiology of helicobacteriosis includes at least two components: the technic - the maintenance of the feasible technic and sanitary state of the water distribution systems and the medico-social - expenditures for screening and treatment of infected patients. In total they are an inseparable part of the prevention of socially-important diseases in the public health system.


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