Abstract
The ingestion of Ti-containing nanoparticles from drinking water has emerged as a concern in recent years. This study therefore aimed to characterize Ti-containing nanoparticles in water samples collected from four water treatment plants in Taiwan and to explore the challenges associated with measuring them at low levels using single particle-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Additionally, the study sought to identify the most effective processes for the removal of Ti-containing nanoparticles. For each water treatment plant, two water samples were collected from raw water, sedimentation effluent, filtration effluent, and finished water, respectively. Results revealed that Ti-containing nanoparticles in raw water, with levels at 8.69 μg/L and 296.8 × 103 particles/L, were removed by approximately 35% and 98%, respectively, in terms of mass concentration and particle number concentration, primarily through flocculation and sedimentation processes. The largest most frequent nanoparticle size in raw water (112.0 ± 2.8 nm) was effectively reduced to 62.0 ± 0.7 nm in finished water, while nanoparticles in the size range of 50–70 nm showed limited changes. Anthracite was identified as a necessary component in the filter beds to further improve removal efficiency at the filtration unit. Moreover, the most frequent sizes of Ti-containing nanoparticles were found to be influenced by salinity. Insights into the challenges associated with measuring low-level Ti-containing nanoparticles in aqueous samples provide valuable information for future research and management of water treatment processes, thereby safeguarding human health.
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Abbreviations
- C/F/S:
-
Coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation
- DOC:
-
Dissolved organic carbon
- NP:
-
Nanoparticle
- NTU:
-
Nephelometric turbidity unit
- PVDF:
-
Polyvinylidene difluoride
- sp-ICPMS:
-
Single particle-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
- TDS:
-
Total dissolved solids
- TRA:
-
Time resolved analysis
- WTP:
-
Water treatment plant
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Acknowledgements
This study was technically supported by the College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, which authorized the research team to use the sp-ICPMS for Ti-containing NP analysis. Additionally, the authors would like to express their appreciation to the staff members of the four study WTPs for their kind assistance in water sampling.
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This study was financially supported by the university funding of budget surplus from the National Taiwan University.
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Chi-Huan Chung: formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft. Gen-Shuh Wang: review and editing, methodology. Yen-Tzu Chen: methodology, project administration, validation. Jou-An Chen: investigation, resources. Yaw-Huei Hwang: conceptualization, supervision, writing—original draft, review and final editing, funding acquisition.
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Chung, CH., Wang, GS., Chen, YT. et al. Ti-containing NPs in raw water and their removal with conventional treatments in four water treatment plants in Taiwan. Environ Monit Assess 196, 476 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12642-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12642-x