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Catalytic Pulsed Plasma Treatment for Removal of Toxic Organic Micropollutants

Catalytic Pulsed Plasma Treatment for Removal of Toxic Organic Micropollutants

Date2nd Jan 2024

Time10:00 AM

Venue Conference Room (BSB 104)

PAST EVENT

Details

Contaminants of emerging concerns (CEC), dyes, and other anthropogenic organic micropollutants (OMPs) are frequently detected in the aqueous matrices. Even though their concentrations range from ng/L to mg/L, their exposure to the biota prevents water reusability because of toxicity and endocrine disruption. Catalytic pulsed plasma treatment (CPPT) employing TiO2 and N-TiO2 photocatalysts was studied to effectively degrade selected organic micropollutants (PPCPs and dyes), namely naproxen (NPX), triclosan (TCS), and reactive red 180 (RR180) in aqueous streams. The present work unveils the synergistic impact of photocatalysts on pollutant removal, with N-TiO2 reducing the treatment time for 90% degradation by 50% compared to the non-catalytic scenario. This improvement is attributed to enhanced radical generation (~85% hydrogen peroxide and >100% hydroxyl radicals), UV-visible light activation, and increased surface area. Mechanistic insights reveal the crucial role of sulfate radicals in RR180 degradation, confirmed by increased sulfate ion synergy. Notably, complete detoxification of all three pollutants is achieved within 8 minutes using 9.81 W input power in single pollutant batch systems. Mineralization follows the order NPX > RR180 > TCS. Finally, CPPT was applied in a continuous side-spray plasma module, and single and multi-pollutant studies were conducted. The research was carried out to determine the impact of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and inlet loading rate (ILR) of a single pollutant system. Due to the reduced exposure to plasma, the breakdown efficiency of all three compounds decreased when the HRT was reduced from 25 min to 6 minutes. Finally, the experiments were carried out in mixed-pollutant systems in secondary treated wastewater to investigate the impact of environmental conditions. In less than 25 minutes, full detoxification was accomplished and the final mineralization for CPPT was approximately 60%. This demonstrated CPPT's exceptional efficacy and extensive applicability in the removal of OMP from domestic wastewater matrix.

Speakers

Mr. Ritik Anand, Roll No.CE21S013

Civil Engineering