A study to assess the viability of novel in-situ techniques for determining chloroform in drinking water in developing countries

Authors

Jack Baker, University of Plymouth

Document Type

Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Article

Abstract

The aim of this study was to research appropriate methods for the in-situ analysis of chloroform and other disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water and then assess the viability of these techniques by comparing them against the established methods. A literature search was undertaken using Web of Science and the various features contained within it to research a series of techniques in three distinct categories. These were βeta-cyclodextrin (βCD) techniques, colourimetry techniques and gas-chromatography (GC) techniques. Of the βCD techniques studied, the 2014 paper by Ncube et al showcased a novel method using an azo dye modified βeta-cyclodextrin epichlorohydrin polymer to measure chloroform concentration in drinking water (Ncube, Krause & Mamba, 2014). The limit of detection (LOD) obtained was lower than that of the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline value for chloroform of 0.3 mg/L (WHO, 2008) but not lower than the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maximum acceptable limit for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) of 0.08 mg/L (USEPA, 2021). For the colourimetry techniques the method by Fattahi et al used a cotton pad soaked in reagents to quantify chloroform at LOD’s lower than any of the other in-situ techniques studied (Fattahi & Shariati-Rad, 2020). These methods were compared against GC techniques in particular the method by González-Hernández et al (2017) which was the most inexpensive method that was still fit for purpose. In conclusion the paper by Fattahi & Shariati-Rad (2020) represented an optimal method for the in-situ analysis of chloroform and was able to compete with more expensive GC methods.

Publication Date

2021-12-24

Publication Title

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Volume

14

Issue

2

First Page

160

Last Page

190

ISSN

1754-2383

Deposit Date

December 2021

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Baker, Jack (2021) "A study to assess the viability of novel in-situ techniques for determining chloroform in drinking water in developing countries," The Plymouth Student Scientist: Vol. 14: Iss. 2, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24382/x6ye-zw45
Available at: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/tpss/vol14/iss2/2