Degradation of imidacloprid containing wastewaters using ultrasound based treatment strategies

Abstract

The present work deals with application of sonochemical reactors for the treatment of imidacloprid containing wastewaters either individually or in combination with other advanced oxidation processes. Experiments have been performed using two different configurations of sonochemical reactors viz. ultrasonic horn (20kHz frequency and rated power of 240W) and ultrasonic bath equipped with radially vibrating horn (25kHz frequency and 1kW rated power). The work also investigates the effect of addition of process intensifying agents such as H2O2 and CuO, which can enhance the production of free radicals in the system. The combination studies with advanced oxidation process involve the advanced Fenton process and combination of ultrasound with UV based oxidation. The extent of degradation obtained using combination of US and H2O2 at optimum loading of H2O2 was found to be 92.7% whereas 96.5% degradation of imidacloprid was achieved using the combination of US and advanced Fenton process. The process involving the combination of US, UV and H2O2 was found to be the best treatment approach where complete degradation of imidacloprid was obtained with 79% TOC removal. It has been established that the use of cavitation in combination with different oxidation processes can be effectively used for the treatment of imidacloprid containing wastewater.