Disinfection By-products Testing

Disinfection by-products (DBPs) refer to chemical substances that are unintentionally produced by means of a reaction between the disinfectant and naturally occurring organic matters in drinking water. The common DBPs include halogenated compounds (e.g., trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), and others), inorganic oxyhalides (e.g., bromate, chlorite and chlorate), perchlorate, and so on.

• Trihalomethanes (THMs): originated from the reaction of free chlorine and/or bromine with specific natural organic matter.
• Haloacetic acids (HAAs): produced when chlorine disinfectants react with organic acids. Five HAAs under regulation by most countries are monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, and dibromoacetic acid.
• Bromate (BrO₃-): formed when resource water containing naturally occurring bromide which reacts with ozone used for disinfection.
• Chlorite (ClO₂-): generated when chlorine di­oxide is used as the disinfectant.
• Chlorate (ClO₃-): produced when chlorine, chlorine dioxide, hypochlorite acid or chloramine is used to disinfect drinking water.
• Perchlorate (ClO₄-): is an oxyanion, which usually results from industrial chemicals contamination.

Many of these by-products are toxic and some of them are considered as carcinogenic or mutagenic for human bodies, even at trace concentrations. Therefore, it is necessary to test disinfection by-products in drinking water to eliminate these detrimental products, and to ensure the health and safety of people.  

Lifeasible is equipped with an excellent food testing laboratory with rich experience in disinfection by-products testing. We provide state-of-the-art technologies for determining the content of all types of DBPs mentioned above. The analysis of DBPs is traditionally performed by ion chromatography (IC), which separates ions and polar molecules based on their affinity to the ion exchanger. Typically, the compounds are separated by the IC column and can be detected by different detection systems, including:

• IC with con­ductivity detection. This method records the detector output (electrical conductivity) versus time as the analyte passes through the chromatography system.
• IC with suppressed conductivity detection. For this method, the suppressor, a device placed between the column and the detector, is used to remove the reverse ions of target analytes from the eluent. This technique can reduce the background conductivity of the eluent and enhance the conductivity of the analytes.
• IC using UV/Vis detection. This method uses postcolumn reagents (e.g., chlorpromazine, o-dianisi­dine, fuchsine or excess bromide (or iodide)) to improve detection limits. The postcolumn derivatives can be detected by UV or visible light detector.  
• IC by mass spectrometry detection. The coupling of IC with mass spec­trometry detector is a fast and reliable technique which allows the determination of DBPs at the level below 1 μg/L without preconcentration step.

At Lifeasible, our excellent experts are committed to developing methods complying with the regulations of the international standardization organization (ISO), the US EPA, and the American society for testing and materials (ASTM). We will provide you with customized protocols adapting to your specific requirements. Working closely with Lifeasible, you will obtain fast, accurate, and reliable DBPs testing results. Welcome to contact us for inquiries, collaborations, and more information.