Trends on Natural Organic Matter in Drinking Water Sources and its Treatment

Abstract

Natural organic matter (NOM) can be defined as a mixture of complex organic compounds that universally present in natural waters. High NOM content in water strongly impact the water quality and treatment in several ways (e.g. causing colour and odour, filter fouling and increase coagulant dose). Besides that, NOM also acts as the main precursor to disinfectant by products (DBPs) produce from the reaction of NOM and disinfectant during water treatment. DBPs are known to be carcinogenic to human and animals. The formation of DBPs is depending on NOM characteristics. Generally, NOM characteristics are differ according to the water sources. In order to understand NOM properties, NOM fractionation is required and therefore different approaches have been proposed for its characterization. Meanwhile several methods of treatment have been developed to remove or reduce the amount of NOM in drinking water sources to prevent DBPs formation. The aim of this paper is to review and discuss the properties and available treatment techniques for NOM.