Continuous chlorine detection in drinking water and a review of new detection methods

Chlorination is necessary to prevent epidemics of waterborne disease however excess chlorination is wasteful, produces harmful disinfection byproducts, exacerbates corrosion and causes deterioration in aesthetic qualities, leading to consumer complaints. Residual chlorine must be continuously monitored to prevent both under- and over-chlorination and factors including pH, temperature and fouling must be considered as these also affect the disinfectant strength of residual chlorine. Standard methods used by water utility companies to determine residual chlorine concentration in drinking water distribution systems are appraised and found to be unsuitable for continuous monitoring. A selection of newly developed methods for residual chlorine analysis are evaluated against performance criteria, to direct research towards the development of chlorine sensors that are suitable for use in water systems. It is found that fouling tolerance in particular is generally not well understood for these selected sensor technologies and that long-term trials in real systems is recommended.