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Chlorination

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Is Chlorination right for you? 

For more than 100 years, chlorine has played an essential role in water disinfection. In 1905, chlorination was an effective method in combating the typhoid epidemic in London. The process was quickly adopted in the United States and used throughout the 20th century. Today, the chlorination process is still a practical solution for source waters low in organics, and low in difficult-to-treat microorganisms. 

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What is Chlorination?

Chlorination refers to treatment using free chlorine, which is the common disinfection method if the source water is minimally contaminated with organics or contains a low concentration of difficult-to-treat microorganisms such as Giardia or Cryptosporidium. Although the pros and cons of disinfection with chlorine have been extensively debated, it remains the most widely used chemical for disinfection of water in the U.S. Chlorine is primarily used as a disinfectant, but also serves as an oxidizing agent for taste and odor control, prevention of algal growths, maintaining clear filter media, removal of iron and manganese, destruction of hydrogen sulfide, and improving coagulation.

Chlorination is a common method to disinfect water contaminated by difficult-to-treat microorganisms, like Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

Why Chlorination?

According to the Safe Drinking Water Foundation:

“In cases where protozoan cysts are not a major concern, chlorination is a good disinfection method to use because it is inexpensive yet effective in disinfecting many other possibly present contaminants. The chlorination process is also fairly easy to implement, when compared to other water treatment methods. It is an effective method in water emergency situations as it can eliminate an overload of pathogens relatively quickly. An emergency water situation can be anything from a filter breakdown to a mixing of treated and raw water.”

The Safe Drinking Water Foundation is an education organization for water quality issues.

Why test with chlorination?

With analytical testing, you can:

• Maximize disinfection efficiency
• Determine adequate Chlorine CT credits
• Optimize chlorine feed pump rates
• Create an iron and manganese removal strategy

Testing Chlornation at a facility with Hach instruments.

 

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Chlorination Applications

 

Learn the basics regarding chlorine disinfection.

Blue Book: Chlorination, Chloramination and Chlorine Measurement

Learn the basic information about use of chlorine as a disinfectant and to convey information about the chlorination and chloramination processes. This document will also explore measurement of chlorine and chloramine residuals.

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Learn how pH and temperature effects chlorine and chloramine measurements.

Amperometric Probes or DPD Analyzers: Which Is Best For On-Line Chlorine Monitoring?

Learn about the limitations of quantifying chlorine and chloramines in water, the effect of pH on amperometric measurements, and how temperature effects sensor calibration.

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Take a course with Hach Digital Learning to learn what chlorine is and why it is important, where chlorine is used, and what methods are used to measure chlorine.

Continue your education with Hach Digital Learning

Take this online course to learn what disinfection is and why it is important, how disinfection works, and the different methods of disinfection and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

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Fast Chlorination Field Testing

 

Learn how to use the Hach SL1000 Portable Parallel Analyzer for fast, accurate, and easy field testing.

 

 

 

Which Options are Right for You?

Chlorination is a multifaceted process that involves a variety of factors, and every facility and operation is different. Whatever your needs, Hach is ready to help with information, technology, and support.

Explore the different types of chlorination parameters and methods below.

Chlorination involves a variety of parameters and methods. Learn which parameters and methods are right for your drinking water facility.

 



Free Chlorine

Free chlorine concentrations are tracked at several process points in the treatment system. Check the free chlorine level to provide maximum disinfection efficiency, to maintain adequate levels for CT credits and to deliver the desired free chlorine residual at the Point-of-Entry to the distribution system. Select the DPD Free Chlorine method that adequately covers the expected chlorine concentration and gives the test sensitivity and concentration resolution desired. The method required may change depending upon the test site within the treatment system. The titration methods are easily adapted to meet the test ranges required in a free chlorine treatment process.

Free chlorine concentrations are tracked at several process points in the chlorination disinfection process to provide maximum disinfection efficiency.

pH

Monitor pH to maintain a reasonably steady pH value and to control process efficiency. While pH levels may be unique to a specific potable water treatment process, water disinfection with free chlorine in a pH range of 7.0 to 7.5 has been found to be most effective. The pH value is also used in determining CT credits.

Monitor pH during the chlorination disinfection process to maintain a reasonably steady pH value and to control process efficiency.

Iron

Residual iron is checked to monitor the effectiveness of the chlorine oxidation processes used to remove iron. Use the FerroVer Iron colorimetric method for routine testing. Use the TPTZ Iron colorimetric method when low-level iron testing is required.

Residual iron is checked during chlorination disinfection to monitor the effectiveness of the chlorine oxidation processes used to remove iron.

Manganese

In addition to causing operational and aesthetic problems, manganese causes a false positive value in standard DPD chlorine determinations. The positive interference cannot be readily identified in the DPD chlorine determination. The presence of manganese must be separately analyzed to determine if sample pretreatment is required to compensate for the manganese interference. Test also to check the effectiveness of the manganese removal processes.

Manganese is measured during the chlorination disinfection process to determine if sample pretreatment is required to compensate for manganese interference.

Hypochlorite

Bulk hypochlorite (bleach) solutions are unstable and the chlorine concentration will decrease during transportation or during storage. Delivered solutions are billed based on the % or g/L chlorine concentration delivered to the facility or end-user. The chlorine concentration is checked upon delivery to ensure accurate billing. Storage tanks are periodically checked to maintain optimum chlorine feed pump rates. Test methods designed to measure % or g/L chlorine concentrations directly without dilution should be used.

Testing hypochlorite during the chlorination disinfection process is important due to the unstable nature of hypochlorite, which will decrease during transportation or during storage.

No-Interference Free Chlorine

Use the no-interference indophenol method ( Hach Method 10241) to monitor the disappearance of free chlorine in chloramination process without interference from monochloramine.

During the chlorination disinfection process the no-interference indophenol method can be used to monitor the disappearance of free chlorine without interference from monochloramine.

 

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