The impact of bromide on the formation of neutral and acidic disinfection by-products (DBPs) in Mediterranean chlorinated drinking water

By using the Grob closed loop stripping analysis technique a wide variety of disinfection by-products (DBPs) was determined, in finished drinking water of 15 important cities of Greece distributed in the southern, northern, west continental land and in the islands of Aegean and Ionian Seas. Trihalomethanes, haloacetonitriles, haloacetic acids, chloropicrin, halogenated ketons and chloral hydrate were the main DBPs determined. In chlorinated drinking water of coastal cities brominated DBPs were most abundant than their chlorinated homologues due to the higher bromide concentration in raw waters of these areas. Factor analysis with principal component extraction of the results demonstrated a clear differentiation between the examined drinking waters on the basis of their DBPs content and vicinity to the sea.