Colorimetric Quantification Methods for Peracetic Acid together with Hydrogen Peroxide for Water Disinfection Process Control (original) (raw)

Assessment of a colorimetric method for the measurement of low concentrations of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide in water

Talanta, 2018

The recent growing interest in peracetic acid (PAA) as disinfectant for wastewater treatment demands reliable and readily-available methods for its measurement. In detail, the monitoring of PAA in wastewater treatment plants requires a simple, accurate, rapid and inexpensive measurement procedure. In the present work, a method for analyzing low concentrations of PAA, adapted from the US EPA colorimetric method for total chlorine, is assessed. This method employs N,N-diethyl-pphenylelnediamine (DPD) in the presence of an excess of iodide in a phosphate buffer system. Pink colored species are produced proportionally to the concentration of PAA in the sample. Considering that PAA is available commercially as an equilibrium solution of PAA and hydrogen per-oxide (H 2 O 2), a measurement method for H 2 O 2 is also investigated. This method, as the one for the determination of PAA, is also based on the oxidation of iodide to iodine, with the difference that ammonium molybdate Mo(VI) is added to catalyze the oxidation reaction between H 2 O 2 and iodide, quantifying the total peroxides (PAA+ H 2 O 2). The two methods are suitable for concentration ranges from about 0.1-1.65 mg L −1 and from about 0.3-3.3 mg L −1 , respectively for PAA and H 2 O 2. Moreover, the work elucidates some relevant aspects related to the operational conditions, kinetics and the possible interference of H 2 O 2 on PAA measurement.

Chemical aspects of peracetic acid based wastewater disinfection

Water SA, 2014

Peracetic acid (PAA) has been studied for wastewater disinfection applications for some 30 years and has been shown to be an effective disinfectant against many indicator microbes, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. One of the key advantages compared to, e.g., chlorine is the lack of harmful disinfection by-products. In this paper a pilot-scale study of PAAbased disinfection is presented. Indicator microbes (E. coli, total coliforms and coliphage viruses) as well as chemical parameters (pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), chemical and biochemical oxygen demand (COD and BOD), and residual PAA and hydrogen peroxide) were studied. The main aim of this investigation was to study how these selected chemical parameters change during PAA treatment. Based on the results, disinfection was efficient at C•t values of 15 to 30 (mg•min)/ℓ which equals to a PAA dose of 1.5 to 2 mg/ℓ and a contact time of 10 to 15 min. In this concentration area changes in pH, COD and BOD were negligible. However, hydrogen peroxide residues may interfere with COD measurements and apparent COD can be higher than the calculated theoretical oxygen demand (ThOD). Additionally PAA or hydrogen peroxide residues interfere with the BOD test resulting in BOD values that are too low. Residual PAA and ORP were found to correlate with remaining amounts of bacteria.

Simultaneous spectra-kinetic determination of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide in a brewery cleaning-in-place disinfection process

Analytica Chimica Acta, 2004

A spectra-kinetic approach was applied for the simultaneous determination of peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and hydrogen peroxide with multiple linear regression (MLR) method, using the initial rates of their reaction with diphenylamine (DPA). The predictive ability of the MLR method is based on the slight kinetic differences of these analytes occur at two wavelengths when react with DPA as a common ligand. A stopped flow apparatus was used, and the time-resolved UV-vis spectra were measured with a coupled charge device (CCD) spectrophotometer. This novel instrumentation allowed to obtain high quality kinetic data at a maximum of many wavelengths simultaneously. The method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of these peroxides in residues from a disinfection process in a beer brewery.

THE BEHAVIOUR OF PERACETIC ACID AS A WATER DISINFECTANT

Peracetic acid (PAA) is currently and successfully being used, for instance to disinfect sewage effluents, to sterilise process vessels and tanks in the food industry, to control microbial growth in process and cooling waters, ion exchange columns, etc.

Stability of antimicrobial activity of peracetic acid solutions used in the final disinfection process

Brazilian Oral Research, 2015

The instruments and materials used in health establishments are frequently exposed to microorganism contamination, and chemical products are used before sterilization to reduce occupational infection. We evaluated the antimicrobial effectiveness, physical stability, and corrosiveness of two commercial formulations of peracetic acid on experimentally contaminated specimens. Stainless steel specimens were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, blood, and saliva and then immersed in a ready peracetic acid solution: 2% Sekusept Aktiv (SA) or 0.25% Proxitane Alpha (PA), for different times. Then, washes of these instruments were plated in culture medium and colony-forming units counted. This procedure was repeated six times per day over 24 non-consecutive days. The corrosion capacity was assessed with the mass loss test, and the concentration of peracetic acid and pH of the solutions were measured with indicator tapes. Both SA and PA significantly eliminated microorganisms; however, the SA solution was stable for only 4 days, whereas PA remained stable throughout the experiment. The concentration of peracetic acid in the SA solutions decreased over time until the chemical was undetectable, although the pH remained at 5. The PA solution had a concentration of 500-400 mg/L and a pH of 2-3. Neither formulation induced corrosion and both reduced the number of microorganisms (p = 0.0001). However, the differences observed in the performance of each product highlight the necessity of establishing a protocol for optimizing the use of each one.

Water and Wastewater Disinfection with Peracetic Acid and UV Radiation and Using Advanced Oxidative Process PAA/UV

International Journal of Photoenergy, 2015

The individual methods of disinfection peracetic acid (PAA) and UV radiation and combined process PAA/UV in water (synthetic) and sanitary wastewater were employed to verify the individual and combined action of these advanced oxidative processes on the effectiveness of inactivation of microorganisms indicators of fecal contaminationE. coli, total coliforms (in the case of sanitary wastewater), and coliphages (such as virus indicators). Under the experimental conditions investigated, doses of 2, 3, and 4 mg/L of PAA and contact time of 10 minutes and 60 and 90 s exposure to UV radiation, the results indicated that the combined method PAA/UV provided superior efficacy when compared to individual methods of disinfection.

Influence of inorganic and organic compounds on the decay of peracetic acid in wastewater disinfection

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2018

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the physical-chemical characteristics of wastewater on PAA decay, in multi-component solutions of inorganic and organic compounds (11 compounds in total) representative of secondary effluents of wastewater treatment plants, disinfected at various PAA concentrations (2-5 mg/L). Batch experiments were defined using the statistical method of the Design of Experiments (DoE) in order to evaluate the effect of each compound and their interaction on PAA decay. Results showed that the organics consumed immediately a considerable amount of PAA, independently from the initial PAA concentration , and consumption dropped rapidly to almost nil after 5 min, whereas PAA consumption due to the inorganics was slow, dependent on the initial PAA concentration and persisted until the end of the experiments (60 min). In detail, inorganics (such as reduced iron and orthophosphate) have shown to be the main drivers of the exponential decay: iron, particularly, has proved to directly consume PAA due to its catalysing capacity, whereas orthophosphate has shown to mainly interact with iron, acting as a chelating compound towards iron and consequently reducing the iron effect in consuming PAA. As for organics, proteins such as, casein and peptone, have been highlighted as the main cause of the initial PAA demand, probably due to the homolytic fission of PAA to generate peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals, which are known to have a high reactivity towards proteins. Finally, a model for predicting the residual PAA concentration was obtained and validated; uncertainty analysis was also performed by a series of Monte Carlo simulations to propagate input uncertainties to the model output.

Evaluation of the efficiency of peracetic acid in the disinfection of sewage effluents

Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2001

Aims: Evaluation of the ef®ciency of peracetic acid in the disinfection of wastewater in a large treatment plant. Methods and Results: Over a period of 18 months 30 sample collections were made, each consisting of three samples taken from: raw incoming sewage, secondary ef¯uent (after 10±12 h) and secondary ef¯uent disinfected with 1á5±2 mg l ±1 of peracetic acid (contact time: 20 min). Total coliforms and Escherichia coli declined from 10 7 MPN 100 ml ±1 in the raw sewage to 10 2 in the disinfected ef¯uent and the enterococci fell from 10 6 MPN 100 ml ±1 to 702 MPN 100 ml ±1 . The reduction of bacteria increased with the rise in temperature and decreased with the rise in BOD 5 . Conclusions: Disinfection with peracetic acid reduced levels of faecal contamination by 97%, thus attaining the limit recommended by current Italian law (Escherichia coli £ 5000 MPN 100 ml ±1 ) for discharge into surface waters. Signi®cance and Impact of the Study: The process of disinfection with peracetic acid is easier to manage than other more common methods and the tests performed con®rm that from the bacteriological point of view good results can be obtained for urban ef¯uents.

A systematic evaluation of a peracetic-acid-based high performance disinfectant

Journal of Infection Prevention, 2013

The importance of environmental contamination in the spread of healthcare associated infections (HAI) has generated a need for high performance disinfectants. Currently chlorine-based disinfectants are the products of choice, a position reflected in UK guidance. The aim of this research was to evaluate a peracetic acid (PAA) generating disinfectant to determine if it provided a realistic alternative to commonly used chlorine-based disinfectants. The European standards framework was employed in this study and enhanced where appropriate by reducing the contact times, increasing the organic and microbial challenge, and changing the organisms involved. When tested against bacteria and spores PAA provided similar or better performance than currently employed levels of chlorine. This was particularly the case in the presence of an organic challenge or dried surface contamination. The chlorine disinfectants only demonstrated superior performance in the case of fungal spores. These results ...

Practical applications of sensor-based methodologies for monitoring peracetic acid (PAA) as a disinfectant of fresh produce wash water

Food Control, 2021

An accurate sensor for peracetic acid (PAA) is needed to monitor and control the disinfection of fresh produce wash water. Inaccurate measurements can result in underdosing and unsafe produce or overdosing with huge cost implications. In this study, five methods were compared for measuring PAA in process water from washing apples, tomatoes, red sweet peppers, and lemons. A reversed phase HPLC-DAD method for the determination of PAA in water was adapted for process wash water and used as a reference method. The results showed that HPLC offered high selectivity for PAA and precise and reproducible measurement for its quantification. However, as HPLC is not suitable for in-line applications in processing plants and requires highly skilled technicians, installation and maintenance costs, other analytical methods were examined including a redox titration, a reflectometric method and two electrochemical methods (an amperometric in-line probe and a chronoamperometric method with disposable singleuse electrode sensor). The drop titration kit overestimated PAA because of the interferences from other oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide (HP) apart from it required substantial time to perform the measurements plus the extensive training of the technical personnel to ensure confidence in the results. The reflectometric method with disposable test strips, although fast and objective, overestimated PAA due to the wash water with a high content of suspended organic matter that needed the addition of high concentrations of PAA, coexisting with HP. From the two electrochemical methods studied, the in-line amperometric sensor underestimated the PAA concentration in lemon wash water as the PAA could not freely diffuse through the membrane through the active electrode because of the organic matter present in the wash water released from the lemon peel. In contrast, the chronoamperometric sensor showed good selectivity for PAA 3 without interferences, with reliable results across all the wash water types and PAA concentrations.