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PDFOpen Access (License Unspecified), Open Access
Thesis
Modeling of trihalomethane formation based on consensus of existing empirical models
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
2011
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-3721
Abstract
Upon discovery of their prominence in municipal water supplies in the US in the 1970s, trihalomethanes (THM), a potentially carcinogenic disinfection by-product, have been extensively researched. As a result, many THM formation models have been proposed in the literature to predict what concentrations are expected under various environmental conditions. However, many of the existing THM formation models are site-specific or effective only under certain conditions, and therefore cannot be utilized universally. This study evaluates the performance and characteristics of 40 existing THM formation models by applying water quality data collected from the EPA Information Collection Rule (ICR) database. Additionally, this study proposes six new models based on a consensus of the existing model predictions. Water quality data for chlorine dose, pH, temperature, bromide concentration, total organic carbon (TOC), UV-254, reaction time, alkalinity, and residual chlorine was input into each model equally, when applicable. Based on mean squared error of predicted THM and observed THM, two proposed models performed better than any of the existing models reviewed. Proposed models are comprised of measurements of central tendency (arithmetic mean, median, and weighted average based on modeling-building sample size) of all existing model predictions for a given ICR sampling event. The same procedure was also carried out by selectively incorporating each existing model predictions into the central tendency measurement based on each existing model's original data ranges, such that predictions were only accepted if the ICR sampling event resembled the model-building data for each existing model. Finally, the correlation of existing model predictions with observed data was shown to increase as a function of parameterization and model-building sample size.
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Details
- Title
- Modeling of trihalomethane formation based on consensus of existing empirical models
- Creators
- Adam Erispaha - DU
- Contributors
- Charles Nathan Haas (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil (and Architectural) Engineering [Historical]; College of Engineering (1970-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 3721; 991014632220004721