Organic matter (OM), such as natural organic matter (NOM) in surface waters, and effluent organic matter (EfOM) in wastewaters causes many problems. For example, color, taste and odor derogate potable water quality, while the presence of endocrine disrupting substances and the formation of disinfectant byproducts (DBPs) are public health concerns. Over the years various analytical methods have been developed to characterize organic matter in natural and wastewaters. However, it remains difficult to determine the properties and characteristics of various OM constituents. Since all OM components in water have their own specific sizes, size distribution is a useful analytical tool to characterize complex OM. The results also enable better interpretation of experimental results, determination of future research directions, and evaluation of the progress of investigations. This review presents the common analytical size distribution methods used to characterize OM present in waters and wastewaters.
ASTM, Standard E11-95: Specification for wire cloth and sieves for testing purposes, American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, 1995
Buffle J, Perret D, Newman M, The use of filtration and ultrafiltration for size fractionation of aquatic particles, colloids, and macromolecules, In Environmental Particles. 1, eds. Buffle, J. and van Leeuwen, H.P. 171. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, 1992
Cai Y, Water Res., 33, 3056, 1999
Cameron RS, J. Soil Sci., 23, 342, 1972
Chin Y, Aiken G, O’Loughlin E, Environ. Sci. Technol., 28, 1853, 1994
Cho J, Natural organic matter (NOM) rejection by, and flux-decline of, nanofiltration (NF) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, PhD thesis, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado, 1998
Eaton AD, Clesceri LS, Greenberg AE, Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, American Public Health Association, Washington, DC., 1995
Gimbert LJ, Andrew KN, Haygarth PM, Worsfold PJ, Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 22, 615, 2003
Gjessing E, Lee GF, Environ. Sci. Technol., 1, 631, 1967
Stevenson EJ, Colloidal properties of humic substances. Humus Chemistry, Wiley Interscience, New York, 1982
Stull JK, Swift DJP, Niedoroda AW, Sci. Total Environ., 179, 73, 1996
Swift RS, Posner AM, J. Soil Sci., 22, 237, 1971
Thurman EM, Organic geochemistry of natural waters, Martinus Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Netherlands, 1985
Thurman EM, Malcolm RL, Concentration and fractionation of hydrophobic organic acid constituents from natural waters by liquid chromatography, USGS Water Supply Paper 1817-G, 1979