Abstract
In this work, we have tested a photocatalytic material consisting of a core of SiO2/Fe3O4 coated with TiO2 (Magnox) for plausible tertiary wastewater treatment. For this, a pilot plant of 45 L equipped with an Ultraviolet light (UVC) lamp was employed to study the degradation of a model contaminant, enrofloxacin (ENR), as well as water disinfection (elimination of Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens). The influence of different operational conditions was explored by means of dye (rhodamine-B) decolorization rates, analyzing the effects of photocatalyst quantity, pH and recirculation flow rates. The magnox/UVC process was also compared with other four Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs): (i) UVC irradiation alone, (ii) hydrogen peroxide with UVC (H2O2/UVC), (iii) Fenton, and (iv) photo-Fenton. Although UVC irradiation was efficient enough to produce total water disinfection, only when employing the AOPs, significant degradations of ENR were observed, with photo-Fenton being the most efficient process (total enrofloxacin removal in 5 min and c.a. 80% mineralization in 120 min, at pH0 2.8). However, Magnox/UVC has shown great pollutant abatement effectiveness under neutral conditions, with the additional advantage of no acid or H2O2 addition, as well as its plausible reuse and simple separation due to its magnetic properties.
Highlights
IntroductionFresh water is a highly valuable resource whose demand is continuously increasing
Fresh water is a highly valuable resource whose demand is continuously increasing.It is estimated that over the century, the quantity of available water must increase in the range of 25–60% to satisfy future needs, according to the World Bank 2001 report [1]
Reused water must be safe, and for this purpose, a tertiary treatment is necessary in order to eliminate contaminants that cannot be removed by conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs)—namely, microbiological content and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as antibiotics or pesticides [4,5,6,7]
Summary
Fresh water is a highly valuable resource whose demand is continuously increasing. It is estimated that over the century, the quantity of available water must increase in the range of 25–60% to satisfy future needs, according to the World Bank 2001 report [1]. Drastic solutions are required in order to ensure future water demands. A potential use of reclaimed water is agriculture, as it consumes about 70% of global freshwater withdrawals worldwide [3]. Reused water must be safe, and for this purpose, a tertiary treatment is necessary in order to eliminate contaminants that cannot be removed by conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs)—namely, microbiological content and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as antibiotics or pesticides [4,5,6,7]
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