What characteristic is associated with peracetic acid disinfection?

• A. Increases Disinfection By-Products
• B. Reduces Disinfection By-Products
• C. Requires High Capital Cost
• D. Gives Instant Disinfection But Is Ineffective

Answer: (B)

Peracetic acid acts as a non-chlorine disinfectant, and its use tends to lower the formation of disinfection by-products compared with chlorine-based methods. Since it doesn’t rely on chlorine chemistry, reactions that produce chlorinated by-products (like THMs and HAAs) are minimized, while still delivering effective microbial inactivation. It doesn’t provide an instantaneous disinfection or require exorbitant capital costs as a defining feature, and it isn’t inherently ineffective. So the characteristic most associated with peracetic acid disinfection is that it reduces disinfection by-products.