In fact, every disinfectant has its own strengths and weaknesses, just like human beings. The disinfection of wastewater with chlorine dioxide also has its unique advantages, which we will briefly discuss in this article.
Whether for drinking water, medical wastewater or other water sources, chlorine dioxide delivers better disinfection performance than chlorine gas when treating water contaminated with viruses, bacteria and other pollutants. Why is this the case? One distinct difference is that chlorine dioxide can inactivate certain pathogens that have been proven to be chlorine-resistant. This chemical is also effective in preventing and removing biofilms.
In addition, chlorine dioxide is colorless and odorless, yet it can effectively destroy phenolic substances in water that cause taste and odor problems. It also excels at removing harmful heavy metals such as manganese and iron, which is crucial for water quality improvement. Simply put, drinking water must be free of iron and manganese to meet distribution standards.
That said, one important fact should be noted: the reaction of chlorine dioxide with harmful microorganisms produces a byproduct called chlorite, whereas conventional chlorine generates various types of disinfection byproducts. Furthermore, chlorine dioxide does not react with ammonia nitrogen or other oxidizable organic matter during disinfection.
As discussed, chlorine dioxide disinfection not only reduces the health risks posed by microbial contamination in water, but also mitigates the combined hazards of chemical byproducts and pollution. It also has different pH requirements: chlorine dioxide remains effective within a pH range of 5 to 10, and its efficacy increases at higher pH levels.
However, Hangzhou Modi, a manufacturer of water quality monitoring instruments, would like to remind that the dosage of any disinfectant must be properly controlled. For instance, when using chlorine-based disinfection methods, staff should monitor residual chlorine in water with an RCl900 Online Residual Chlorine Analyzer to regulate disinfectant dosage and ensure water quality is not adversely affected by excessive disinfection.
