Browsing by Author "Mehrabani-Zeinabad, Mitra"

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    Advanced Oxidative Processes for Treatment of Emerging Contaminants in Water
    (2016) Mehrabani-Zeinabad, Mitra; Achari, Gopal; Langford, Cooper; Bergerson, Joule; Tay, Joo-Hwa Andrew; Ponnurangam, Sathish; Surampalli, Rao
    In this research, degradation of emerging contaminants in municipal and industrial wastewater was studied by using a variety of advanced oxidation processes. Bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) were selected as candidate emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater and sulfolane as a candidate for industrial wastewater. Degradation kinetics of different oxidation processes in spiked water and contaminated wastewater/groundwater were investigated in batch as well as in a flow-through photo-reactor. Degradation of BPA and BPS in spiked water and post-secondary treated wastewater was studied using UVC, UVC/H2O2, O3 and UVA/O3 in a batch photo-reactor. The effective parameters of each process were identified and their impacts on degradation rates were further investigated. Based on the results obtained, the fate of BPA and BPS in municipal wastewater as they move through the UV disinfection unit of a local wastewater treatment plant in Calgary, Canada, was evaluated. It was found that only 1% of BPA and 6% of BPS were degraded in the disinfection unit. However, should 0.042 M H2O2 be added to the wastewater stream entering the disinfection unit, 56% of BPA and 47% of BPS can be degraded. By implementation of O3 and UVA/O3 processes, degradation levels could exceed 95%. Several oxidative methods were used to degrade sulfolane in spiked water and contaminated groundwater in a batch photo-reactor. These include UVA and UVC irradiation with suitable photoactive oxidants, including O3, H2O2, TiO2-based photocatalysis and their combinations. A synergistic effect was observed in the combination of H2O2 and O3 photolysis. The highest rate of sulfolane loss was attributed to UVC/O3/H2O2, UVC/H2O2 and UVC/O3 processes. Finally, the science established in the batch experiments for degradation of the candidate emerging contaminants in municipal and industrial wastewater was further developed into a technology for treating BPS and sulfolane in a flow-through photo-reactor with recirculation. It was found that the most effective process in terms of overall mineralization of BPS and sulfolane in post-secondary treated wastewater and contaminated groundwater, respectively, is the UVC/O3/H2O2 process. The effective parameters were identified and optimized for each of the emerging contaminants.