Swimming pool water treatment in general includes flocculation,
sand filtration, and subsequent disinfection with
chlorine. The continuous chlorination and input of organic material by bathers in combination with recirculation of the pool water leads to an accumulation of disinfection by-products (
DBPs) in the water. Several
DBPs have been identified as human
carcinogens and are thought to cause allergic
asthma. Therefore, the elimination of
DBPs is one major aim of pool water treatment. Using membrane filtration as an alternative treatment technology,
DBPs can be removed more efficiently than with conventional treatment. In this study membrane filtration and genotoxicity testing were applied for the characterization of pool water constituents and for the identification of the necessary molecular weight cut off of the membrane for an efficient elimination. Two-step membrane filtration revealed that most of the
DBPs (as adsorbable organically bound
halogen, AOX) were present in the molecular weight fraction below 1000 g/mol. The fraction below 200 g/mol contained more than 30% of the AOX. The distribution of the
dissolved organic carbon (DOC) across the fractions was similar to that of the AOX. The genotoxicity was found to be strongest in the low-molecular weight fraction. Thus, considerable DBP removal by membrane treatment requires membranes with low-molecular weight cut offs down to 200 g/mol. The comprehensive elimination of the genotoxic compounds requires further treatment steps.