Experimental investigation of water quality responses to inorganic pollutants for the establishment of a contamination warning system

Abstract

In this study, batch and simulated pipeline experiments were conducted to investigate the response of water quality parameters (pH, conductivity, residual chlorine, turbidity, total organic carbon, UV 254, and oxidation reduction potential (ORP)) to various concentrations of four inorganic pollutants (Cd, Cr, Mn, and Pb). In addition, the possibility of detecting incidents of contamination in the actual water supply system was evaluated by deriving the response intensities of each factor to the concentrations of the pollutants. As a result, pH and ORP were identified as the major water quality parameters responsive to the four inorganic pollutants in this study. The responses were more intense (more sensitive) in pure water than in tap water. The results of the batch and simulated pipeline experiments for tap water showed almost identical tendencies, except for the second level of Mn injection (concentration 0.5 mg/L).