Impact factors and pathways of halonitromethanes formation from aspartic acid during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection

● Cu2+ promoted the formation of HNMs during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. ● Increasing Br− significantly influenced the production and species of HNMs. ● Formation pathways of HNMs were proposed during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. ● The formation laws of HNMs in real water were similar to that in simulated water. ● LED-UV265 can replace the mercury lamp during UV/chlorine disinfection. Light emitting diode (LED-UV)/chlorine disinfection can replace UV/chlorine disinfection in wastewater treatment plants and water supply plants. Halonitromethanes (HNMs) are a class of novel nitrogenous disinfection by-products, which are characterized by higher cytotoxicity and genotoxicity than regulated disinfection by-products. Herein, the impact factors and pathways of HNMs formation from aspartic acid (ASP) were investigated during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. The results showed that three types of chlorinated-HNMs (Cl-HNMs) were found during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection, and their concentrations increased first and then declined as the reaction progressed. Cl-HNMs yields increased with increasing LED-UV265 intensity, free chlorine dosage, and ASP concentration, which declined with increasing pH (6.0–8.0). Meantime, the important impact of the coexisting ions contained in water matrices on HNMs formation from ASP was observed during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. It was found that copper ions (Cu2+) promoted Cl-HNMs formation. Furthermore, when bromide (Br–) appeared during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection, nine types of HNMs were detected simultaneously. Moreover, Br– not only converted Cl-HNMs toward brominated (chlorinated)-HNMs and brominated-HNMs but also showed a marked effect on HNMs concentrations and species. Subsequently, the possible pathways of HNMs formation from ASP were proposed during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. At last, it was proved that the formation trends of HNMs obtained in the real waters were similar to those in simulated waters. This work elaborated on the influence factors and pathways of HNMs formation, which is conducive to controlling the HNMs produced during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection.