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Open Access | Published on May 26, 2021

Application of two different strategies for the simultaneous disinfection and decontamination of urban wastewater using solar photo-Fenton and solar/H2O2 processes

Maniakova G.
Salmeron I.
Polo-López M.I.
Oller I.
Malato S.
Abstract

Simultaneous removal of contaminants of emerging concern and bacteria inactivation in simulated urban wastewater treatment plant effluent (SUWWE) through solar Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) namely solar photo-Fenton (SPF) with Ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid (EDDS) (H2O2=50 mg/L, Fe(III)= 0.1 mM, EDDS=0.1 mM), and the photochemical process based on sunlight/H2O2(H2O2=50 mg/L). Furthermore, the application of a sequential treatment was investigated by firstly applying sunlight/H2O2 followed by SPF at same reagents concentration and at neutral pH in a Raceway Pond reactor. Process efficiency was evaluated in terms of (i) degradation of five contaminants of emerging concern (CECs, namely Caffeine, Carbamazepine, Diclofenac, Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim) at 100 μg/L each and (ii) bacteria inactivation (E. coli, S. enteritidis and E. faecalis), at 103 CFU/mL each. The results showed that SPF and sunlight/H2O2 as standalone processes are not effective enough for simultaneous CECs removal and bacteria inactivation while sequential combination of sunlight/H2O2 and SPF operated in RPR would be a suitable solution for simultaneous CECs removal and bacteria inactivation.

Keywords
sunlight/H2O2, solar photo-Fenton, EDDS, wastewater treatment