engleski

Baby steps toward the application of solar photocatalysis on the real scale: Detailed analysis of environmental pollutants in surface waters and multiphysics modelling of respective degradation by solar photocatalysis in pilot reactors

Micropollutants are often discharged to surface waters through both treated and untreated wastewater from sewage treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants, since many micropollutants can withstand conventional treatment systems. A vast variety of technologies have been proposed to remove micropollutants from water to control water quality requirements. One of the technologies is solar photocatalysis which has been proven as a viable option for removing of emerging and priority pollutants from the environment. However, the application of the process on a real scale is yet to be directed. The main issues are discussed in this work, including variability in annual discharge and stream flow, differences in insolation during the seasons, water matrix and pollutants behavior uncertainties, and environmental impact of new photocatalysts. Therefore, in this work, a multiphysics approach of modelling was applied for two photocatalytic reactors: a flat-plate cascade reactor (FPCR) and a compound parabolic collector reactor (CPC). On a pilot scale, FPCR can be used as innovative low-cost passive water protection in real outdoor systems since its mimics the natural recipient. Moreover, CPC reactor represents state-of-the-art in design due to photocatalysis intensification which makes it technically and economically most feasible for industrial and municipal applications. Micropollutants were analysed in surface water samples taken across Northwest Croatia. The most resistant micropollutants were detected: ibuprofen, cortisone, gemfibrozil, methotrexate. Predictive degradation models were validated based on experimental results of targeted micropollutants degradation over titanium dioxide immobilized by a modified sol-gel method on the glass fibre mesh.

TiO2 – CNT solar photocatalysis ; LC/MSQTOF analysis ; water purification

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