Water Treatment Glossary: ORP, ROS, Biofilm, CT, NSF 60, FIFRA

Oxidation & Control

What do the oxidation and control terms mean?

These terms describe how strongly an oxidant works and how operators measure it. Most come back to millivolts.

ORP (oxidation-reduction potential)

A measurement, in millivolts, of a solution’s tendency to take electrons from whatever it contacts. A higher positive reading means stronger oxidizing conditions, and microbial kill tracks ORP more closely than the ppm of chemical added. See the ORP reference chart for working setpoints.

Millivolt (mV)

One-thousandth of a volt, the unit in which ORP is reported. Jenfitch reference bands run +400 to +500 mV for cooling-tower biofilm control and +650 to +750 mV for drinking-water and post-harvest disinfection.

Oxidation potential

The standard electrode potential of an oxidant, in volts, used to rank oxidizing strength. Reference values include ozone at 2.07 V, chlorine at 1.36 V and sodium hypochlorite at 0.94 V; mineral oxychloride generates species with an effective potential of 2.8–2.9 V. See mineral oxychloride vs. chlorine.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)

Short-lived, oxygen-containing molecules and radicals that oxidize cell membranes, proteins and organic matter. The family includes superoxide, hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, hydroperoxyl and hydrogen peroxide. Read what ROS is and how it cuts treatment costs.

Hydroxyl radical

The radical •OH, with an oxidation potential of 2.80 V and an extremely short lifetime. It does most of the work in advanced oxidation processes, including ozone-based treatment.

Mineral oxychloride

A liquid chelation of minerals with oxygen whose weakly bound oxygen is released as reactive oxygen species on contact with water and contaminants. It is the chemistry in JC 9465 and JC 9450. See mineral oxychloride technology.

Free chlorine

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) plus hypochlorite ion (OCl−). Their balance shifts with pH, so one free-chlorine reading delivers different oxidizing power at pH 7 and 8.5. EPA’s maximum residual disinfectant level for chlorine in drinking water is 4.0 mg/L as Cl₂.

CT value

Residual disinfectant concentration (mg/L) multiplied by contact time (minutes). Drinking-water rules use CT tables to credit how much inactivation a disinfection step achieves for a given organism, temperature and pH.

Log reduction

A base-10 measure of microbial kill: 1-log removes 90%, 3-log removes 99.9%, and 6-log removes 99.9999% of the starting population. UC Davis Post-Harvest measured a 6-log reduction in under 10 seconds with JC 9465 at +700 mV.

Microbiology

What do the microbiology terms mean?

These terms describe what treatment is up against. Most problem organisms live attached to surfaces, not floating free.

Biofilm

Microorganisms attached to a surface inside a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). The matrix consumes oxidant before it reaches the cells. See how JC 9465 removes biofilm.

Biodispersant

A chemical that loosens biofilm and deposits and keeps them suspended so they can be flushed or reached by a biocide. JC 9465 acts as both an oxidizing biocide and a biodispersant in cooling systems.

Biocide

A substance that kills or controls microorganisms. Oxidizing biocides attack cells chemically; non-oxidizing biocides act on specific cell functions. In the United States, pesticidal claims require EPA registration under FIFRA.

Algaecide

A biocide used to control algae and cyanobacteria. Algaecide claims require EPA registration, and an algaecide added to drinking water also needs NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certification, where “Algicide” is a listed function. See NSF 60 algaecides for reservoirs.

Legionella

Bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease and grow in building water systems such as cooling towers, hot-water systems and decorative fountains; people are exposed by breathing aerosolized water droplets. See Legionella control in cooling towers.

MIC (microbiologically influenced corrosion)

Corrosion accelerated by microbial activity, often driven by sulfate-reducing bacteria in the oxygen-free layer of a biofilm at the metal surface. It shows up as pitting under deposits. See cooling tower chlorine alternatives.

Regulation & Certification

What do the regulation and certification terms mean?

Each approval answers a different question, and none substitutes for another.

NSF/ANSI/CAN 60

The standard for health effects of drinking-water treatment chemicals. Certification covers what a chemical and its contaminants contribute to water up to a stated maximum use level; it does not evaluate efficacy. JC 9465 and JC 9450 are NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certified. See certifications explained.

FIFRA

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the federal law under which EPA registers pesticides, including disinfectants, sanitizers, algaecides and biocides. JC 9465 is EPA FIFRA registered. See what FIFRA registration means.

EPA registration

EPA’s license to sell a pesticide in the United States, granted after review of health and environmental data. Registration covers only the uses, rates and directions on the approved label, and using a product inconsistently with its labeling violates federal law. Check labels in EPA’s Pesticide Product Label System.

USDA NOP

The USDA National Organic Program, codified at 7 CFR Part 205. It certifies farms and handlers through accredited certifiers and maintains the National List of allowed synthetic and prohibited nonsynthetic substances. Input products are not themselves certified organic; they are allowed or not allowed for use in certified operations.

WSDA Organic Input Material List

The list of input products the Washington State Department of Agriculture Organic Program has reviewed and registered for use in organic production under USDA organic standards, with any use annotations. JC 9465 is allowed for organic production under USDA NOP (WSDA-listed).

OMRI

The Organic Materials Review Institute, an independent nonprofit that reviews input products against U.S. and Canadian organic standards and publishes the OMRI Products List. Certifiers may accept OMRI decisions, but listing is voluntary. JC 9465’s organic allowance comes from its WSDA listing, not from OMRI.

SDS (Safety Data Sheet)

The 16-section hazard document that OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard requires for hazardous chemicals, covering composition, hazards, handling, storage, first aid and disposal. Request a Jenfitch SDS or label through the contact page.

Process Chemistry

What do the process chemistry terms mean?

These terms cover clarifiers, digesters, scrubbers and oilfield lines, including the by-products and deposits programs exist to prevent.

Disinfection by-products (DBPs: THMs, HAAs)

Compounds formed when disinfectants react with organic matter and bromide. EPA limits total trihalomethanes to 0.080 mg/L and five haloacetic acids (HAA5) to 0.060 mg/L, plus bromate at 0.010 mg/L and chlorite at 1.0 mg/L. See the Goleta Water District THM evaluation.

Chlorate / chlorite

Oxychlorine anions. Chlorite (ClO₂−) is a chlorine dioxide by-product regulated at 1.0 mg/L; chlorate (ClO₃−) forms as hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide solutions age and has no federal MCL. The NSF listing for JC 9465 and JC 9450 calls for finished-water monitoring of chlorate and other chlorine species.

Coagulation

Adding a coagulant to neutralize the surface charge that keeps fine particles suspended, so they can begin to stick together. See coagulation and flocculation.

Flocculation

Gentle mixing after coagulation that grows destabilized particles into larger, faster-settling floc for removal in a clarifier or filter. See coagulation and flocculation.

Jar test

A bench simulation of a treatment step in a row of beakers, each dosed at a different rate, used to choose a chemical dose before plant trials. Goleta Water District jar-tested five doses before planning a full-scale test.

Organo-clay

Bentonite clay whose surface is modified with a quaternary amine so it adsorbs oil, grease and other hydrophobic organics. It is used as a polishing step ahead of membranes or carbon. See organo-clay technology.

Struvite

Magnesium ammonium phosphate scale that builds in anaerobic digesters, pipes, pumps and dewatering equipment, narrowing lines and cutting throughput. See struvite and vivianite control.

Vivianite

Iron phosphate scale that forms alongside or instead of struvite in digesters and sludge-handling lines, particularly where iron salts are dosed. See struvite and vivianite control.

H₂S (hydrogen sulfide)

A toxic, corrosive gas with a rotten-egg odor found in sour gas, oilfield water and wastewater collection systems. It drives odor complaints and corrosion. See wet scrubbing for H2S.

Produced water

Water brought to the surface with oil and gas. It typically carries salts, hydrocarbons, iron sulfide, bacteria and H₂S that foul equipment and complicate reuse or disposal. See oil and gas.

Paraffin

Long-chain hydrocarbon wax that precipitates from crude oil as it cools, coating tubing and flowlines and restricting flow. See JC 9465 as a paraffin inhibitor.