1 Production of Chloramines and Chloramine ... - Save the Water

Adjusting pH for Maintaining Chloramine Residuals
Another method used successfully to maintain chloramine residuals is to maintain an
alkaline pH. The effects of raising pH is shown in the following figure.
The reason that pH increases are effective for maintaining chloramine residuals is
because pH increase slows ammonia release from chloramine degradation.
Managing Chloramines
It is highly recommended that systems using chloramine establish monitoring for the
parameters of total chlorine, ammonia, nitrite, temperature, alkalinity and pH all
parameters that can be measured using simple low cost field kits. ORP monitoring is also
recommended and has wide use in the wastewater treatment industry. ORP hand-held
equipment can be purchased for around $100.
Use of the concepts identified in this paper can provide the water supply operator with a
information that identifies the breakdown of disinfection and resultant problems before
they occur.
It is highly recommended that the operator establish signatures in critical areas of the
water system and monitor the parameters suggested to observe trends in chloramine
breakdown before nitrification is allowed to occur. Historical information is most
valuable in predicting the likely occurrence of future chloramine breakdown occurrences.
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