Treatment of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water Using Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Advanced Oxidation Processes

RSC - Sustainable Water Award Seminar

Abstract:

Advanced oxidation processes are becoming important processes in advanced water treatment trains for the treatment and purification of water and wastewater. Applications include treatment of surface water, groundwater, municipal water, and industrial water. More recently, applications extended to water reuse for various purposes (i.e., direct and indirect potable reuse).  Professor Dionysiou will present examples of his work on the treatment of contaminants of emerging concern for application related to drinking water treatment and water reuse applications. He will present details on the mechanism of degradation of cyanotoxins, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, sunscreen ingredients and other contaminants of concern using heterogeneous (i.e., semiconductor photocatalysis, photo-Fenton-like, dark-based catalytic) and homogeneous (UV/H2O2, UV/persfulfate, UV/chlorine)  advanced oxidation processes. Examples will be provided on the synthesis of novel photocatalytic materials as well as the mechanism of degradation by reactive oxygen species.  Aspects on modeling and structure-activity relationships will be presented. The role of water quality parameters and process integration will be discussed.