Addition of hydrogen peroxide for the simultaneous control of bromate and odor during advanced drinking water treatment using ozone

Complete removal of the characteristic septic/swampy odor from Huangpu River source water could only be achieved under an ozone dose as high as 4.0 mg/L in an ozone-biological activated carbon (O3-BAC) process, which would lead to the production of high concentrations of carcinogenic bromate due to the high bromide content. This study investigated the possibility of simultaneous control of bromate and the septic/swampy odor by adding H2O2 prior to the O3-BAC process for the treatment of Huangpu River water. H2O2 addition could reduce the bromate concentration effectively at an H2O2/O3 (g/g) ratio of 0.5 or higher. At the same time, the septic/swampy odor removal was enhanced by the addition of H2O2, although optimization of the H2O2/O3 ratio was required for each ozone dose. At an ozone dose of 2.0 mg/L, the odor was removed completely at an H2O2/O3 ratio of 0.5. The results indicated that H2O2 application at a suitable dose could enhance the removal of the septic/swampy odor while suppressing the formation of bromate during ozonation of Huangpu River source water.