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Seasonal variations of natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water supplied to two coal-fired power stations

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Abstract

Global issues such as pollution and global warming have resulted in changes in water characteristics over the past 20 years. Natural organic matter (NOM) which is a major component in water systems has shown an increase globally. This increase in NOM concentration has negatively affected both water treatment processes and drinking water quality. It is subsequently critical to understand the seasonal variations and composition of NOM to be able to address issues related to NOM. In this study, techniques such as ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, total organic carbon and liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) were used for characterisation and quantification of NOM. Two coal-fired power stations were selected for this study with each power station receiving water from a different source, i.e. power station A receives water from the Vaal River and power station B from the Nkomati River. Results from this study demonstrated that composition and concentration of NOM from these two water sources varied seasonally. Characterisation of NOM using the LC-OCD indicated that the different fractions of NOM, i.e. low molecular weight neutrals, low molecular weight acids, building blocks, humic substances and biopolymers, varied seasonally. The dissolved organic carbon concentration and specific ultraviolet absorbance values of the raw water at both power stations showed an increment amid the wet seasons and a decrease amid the dry seasons.

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Funding

The authors wish to thank the National Research Foundation Competitive Support for Unrated Researchers (SRUG210407592746), the Water Research Commission (Project No.: K52488//3), the National Research Foundation-Competitive Support for Unrated Researchers (SRUG210407592746), the South Africa/India Joint Science and Technology Research Collaboration (IND190911475982) and the Centre for Nanomaterials and Science Research (University of Johannesburg) for funding and the Eskom Research, Testing and Development Business Unit for resources that were made available for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa

    Happiness Mojela & Soraya Phumzile Malinga

  2. Eskom RT&D, Private Bag X40175, Cleveland, Johannesburg, 2022, South Africa

    Happiness Mojela, Gerhard Gericke & Heena Madhav

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  1. Happiness Mojela
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  2. Gerhard Gericke
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  4. Soraya Phumzile Malinga
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Contributions

SH Mojela: data collection, methodology, formal analysis, validation, writing—original draft. H Madhav: conceptualisation, methodology, resources, supervision, writing—review and editing. G Gericke: conceptualisation, methodology, resources, supervision, writing—review and editing. SP Malinga: conceptualisation; methodology; resources; supervision; writing—review and editing; project administration and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Soraya Phumzile Malinga.

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Mojela, H., Gericke, G., Madhav, H. et al. Seasonal variations of natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water supplied to two coal-fired power stations. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 15454–15463 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23239-7

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