The Application of Chlorine Dioxide in Drinking Water Disinfection

Analysis on Application Prospect of Chlorine Dioxide in Drinking Water Disinfection

The health and safety of drinking water is directly related to human life and health. At present, although many people begin to drink pure water and mineral water, the vast majority of Chinese people still drink tap water after the natural water body is treated by conventional treatment processes. Due to the increasingly serious pollution of natural water bodies, tap water is still being used to disinfect liquid chlorine, which will cause unsafe hidden dangers in the water.

At present, most of the water plants in China use liquid chlorine to disinfect water. Liquid chlorine reacts with humus and other organic substances present in the water during disinfection to produce organic halogen compounds such as chloroform. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has pointed out that in the drinking water disinfected with liquid chlorine, organic halogenated hydrocarbon compounds are ubiquitous, with the most organic halogen compounds being chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane, and dibromochloromethane.

Due to the hidden dangers of liquid chlorine disinfecting drinking water, the World Health Organization and the World Food and Agriculture Organization of the World (FAO) have recommended the world-wide broad spectrum, safe and highly effective disinfectant, chlorine dioxide. At present, most disinfectants have been used in most water plants in Europe, the United States, and Canada. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses chlorine dioxide as the preferred disinfectant for the replacement of liquid chlorine, and has specific provisions for the use of chlorine dioxide in drinking water disinfection. Italy not only uses chlorine dioxide to treat drinking water, but also uses it in water and cooling water systems such as steel mills, power plants, pulp mills, and petrochemical plants to control bio-contamination agents. At present, some water plants in China use chlorine dioxide disinfection.

    The reason why chlorine dioxide is widely accepted is mainly due to four reasons: Chlorine dioxide is more effective than liquid chlorine in inactivating viruses and other microorganisms, that is, the bactericidal effect is significantly better than liquid chlorine; chlorine dioxide does not form chloroform, etc. in water. Organic halogenated compounds that are harmful to human health; chlorine dioxide bactericidal properties are virtually immune to pH; chlorine dioxide can be used to control the smell and taste produced by algae, decaying plants, and phenolic compounds.

   According to relevant information, at present, China has a mature technology that uses high-purity chlorine dioxide instead of liquid chlorine for disinfection of drinking water. This includes the production of stable chlorine dioxide and its activation technology, the production of chlorine dioxide generator equipment technology. It also has an accurate analysis of chlorine dioxide, chlorine, chlorite and chlorate in water, which provides technical support for the promotion of chlorine dioxide disinfection of drinking water in China.

Application of chlorine dioxide

    At present, the application of chlorine dioxide in China is relatively common. In food, sanitation, medical, industrial water, sewage treatment and drinking water and other applications. However, due to the late research on chlorine dioxide in China, its practical application is still very limited compared with the vast market.

        There are many types of chlorine dioxide-related products on the domestic market. According to understanding there are two main forms:
One is a variety of stable chlorine dioxide products, the product form is mainly two kinds of liquid and solid powder. Because of its high stability, this type of product can be stored for a long period of time and is convenient to use. Therefore, it is mainly used in some periodic, relatively concentrated, temporary local disinfection sites, such as the equipment of food processing companies, the disinfection of air systems, and hospitals. Disinfection of hotels and restaurants, and local disinfection of homes.

The second is the agent of foreign products or domestic chlorine dioxide generator developed and produced. There are also dozens of kinds of such products in China, and the product performance is uneven. This product is characterized by the use of two or more chemical raw materials, on-site preparation of chlorine dioxide directly by the generator for the disinfection of production, according to the previous description, the performance of the chlorine dioxide purity of the equipment is better than 95 %, safety is also relatively safe, and is widely used in drinking water, sewage and swimming pools and other disinfection sites.

        The above two methods of chlorine dioxide application, the author believes that these two methods have their own irreplaceable characteristics. There are many kinds of stable chlorine dioxide products. There are various types of disinfectants and preservatives. They have a wide range of applications, and they have the advantages of easy operation and can be disinfected at any time according to need. Especially when controlling infectious diseases, It also embodies the merits of fixed, timely, rapid, and effective.

        Chlorine dioxide has attracted widespread attention since it was discovered. With the rapid development of science and technology, chlorine dioxide has entered people's daily lives, providing protection for human health. Moreover, with the development of industrialization, various environmental pollutions have become more and more influential to human health. Traditional methods of sterilizing chlorine preparations have been proven to have adverse effects on the human body. Therefore, the development of new, effective and harmless humans is indispensable. Green disinfectant preparations have become an inevitable direction of development. With the support of our government’s government policies, we believe that in the near future, we will truly appreciate the clean, green and beautiful environment brought by chlorine dioxide.