This thesis aims mainly at investigating the potential oxidizing abilities and possible applications of the UV/Chlorine process as an Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP). Several organic compounds were used and added into the samples as challenging radical scavengers to investigate the possibilities of the UV/Chlorine process being used in the water and wastewater treatment industry. The UV/H2O2 process was selected as a reference, and experiments were carried out parallel; the results obtained earlier in the UV/Chlorine process were compared to those of the UV/H2O2 process. Methanol was added into active chlorine solutions at both pH 5 and 10. The quantum yields for the degradation of active chlorine were calculated after the samples had been exposed to UV. Also the production of OH radicals was calculated by determining the generation of formaldehyde. The OH radical yield factors, which are significant in evaluating AOPs, were calculated both in the UV/Chlorine and the UV/H2O2 processes. In addition to methanol, para-chlorobenzoic acid (pCBA) and cyclohexanoic acid (CHA) were added to active chlorine solutions and to H2O2 solutions. The first-order reaction rate constants for the oxidation of pCBA and CHA using the UV/Chlorine process were calculated and compared to those of the UV/H2O2 process. This allowed an evaluation of whether or not the UV/Chlorine process might be efficient for the treatment of contaminated water samples containing pCBA and/or CHA. Finally the thesis comes to a general conclusion about the efficiency of the UV/Chlorine process compared to that of the UV/H2O2 process. / Environmental Engineering

El objetivo de la tesis es contribuir a la aceptación del Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) como herramienta metodológica para la evaluación medioambiental de procesos químicos diseñados siguiendo las pautas de la Química Verde. Se pretende asimismo complementar e integrar la evaluación ambiental con la correspondiente evaluación económica, también desde una perspectiva de ciclo de vida. Con el objetivo de mostrar la potencial utilidad del ACV en este ámbito, se llevan a cabo dos casos de estudio en los cuales se evalúan diferentes Procesos Avanzados de Oxidación (PAOs) para el tratamiento de aguas residuales de la industria conteniendo contaminantes orgánicos persistentes. Las tecnologías evaluadas son: fotocatálisis en fase heterogénea, fotocatálisis en fase homogénea mediante procesos foto-Fenton, y ozonización. El primer caso de estudio se lleva a cabo a partir de datos a escala de laboratorio, mientras que el segundo caso de estudio, de carácter más detallado, se lleva a cabo mediante datos de planta piloto e industrial. Ambos estudios complementan la dimensión ambiental con la dimensión económica, utilizando la herramienta Coste del Ciclo de Vida (CCV). A continuación, se lleva a cabo una discusión sobre la utilidad del ACV en el ámbito de los procesos químicos, dependiendo de la escala de análisis: desde el laboratorio hasta la aplicación comercial. Finalmente, se presentan las conclusiones globales de la tesis, que pueden resumirse del siguiente modo:- La cuantificación de los avances alcanzados mediante la aplicación de los principios de la Química Verde requiere herramientas, habiéndose mostrado la potencial utilidad del ACV en este ámbito mediante dos casos de estudio sobre PAOs.- Se ha mostrado la posibilidad de aplicar el ACV tanto al nivel más básico de la Química Verde (laboratorio) hasta el más avanzado (aplicación comercial). Sin embargo los resultados obtenidos mediante ACVs basados en datos de laboratorio no necesariamente coinciden con los obtenidos en un estudio detallado, debido a: 1) falta de optimización de los procesos en laboratorio y 2) exclusión de procesos o fases del ciclo de vida que pueden ser relevantes, debido a la falta de datos. Por ello, tales estudios deben ser utilizados únicamente como evaluaciones preliminares.- El ACV despliega su potencialidad en estudios detallados, utilizando datos originados a escala piloto o industrial. Asimismo, el CCV se presenta como un complemento muy apropiado para el ACV, principalmente también en el caso de estudios detallados. / The goal of the thesis is to contribute to the acceptance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a methodological tool for environmental evaluation of chemical processes designed by following the guidelines of Green Chemistry. This work also intends to complement and to integrate in the same framework the environmental assessment with the respective economic assessment, taking into account a life cycle perspective as well. In order to demonstrate the potential suitability of the LCA tool in this context, two case studies are carried out on the subject of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for treating industrial wastewaters containing persistent organic pollutants. In particular, the evaluated AOP technologies are: heterogeneous photocatalysis, homogeneous photo-Fenton, and ozonation. The first case study is carried out by exclusively using data derived from laboratory experiments, while the second case study is more detailed, and carried out by using data from pilot plants and industrial plants. Both studies include, along with the environmental assessment, the corresponding economic assessment, based on Life Cycle Costing (LCC). Following these studies, a discussion is made on the suitability of LCA in the context of chemical processes depending on the scale of analysis. Finally, the overall conclusions of the thesis are outlined, which can be summarised as follows:- In order to assess the advances derived from applying Green Chemistry principles in the design of chemicals and chemical processes, methodological tools are needed. This thesis supports that LCA can be used for such a purpose, as has been shown by means of two case studies on AOPs.- Application of LCA can be carried out at several stages: from the most basic, namely the laboratory scale, to the most advanced, namely commercial application. However, results obtained by means LCA studies based exclusively on laboratory-derived data do not necessarily match the results obtained in a detailed LCAs, mainly due to: 1) lack of optimization of the conditions in which the chemical process takes place in laboratory tests, and 2) excluding relevant operations or life cycle phases which are hardly quantifiable when evaluated from laboratory tests. For this reason, it is suggested that laboratory-derived LCAs should be used only as a means of obtaining preliminary environmental information.- The potential of LCA as a tool is displayed when detailed studies, based on large-scale application data, are carried out. The LCC tool, on the other hand, presents itself as a very suitable complement, mainly when performing detailed studies.

La industria textil produce grandes cantidades de agua residual con un alto contenido de materia orgánica y color. Debido a la amenaza ambiental que supone su naturaleza refractaria, surge la necesidad del tratamiento antes de la descarga. Los procesos biológicos, físicos y químicos convencionales resultan ineficaces en la decoloración y mineralización completa de estos efluentes. Como alternativa emergen los Procesos Avanzados de Oxidación (PAOs), basados principalmente en la generación de radicales hidroxilo (HO·) altamente reactivos. Éstos pueden aplicarse de forma exclusiva o combinados con tratamientos biológicos con el fin de reducir su elevado consumo de reactivos y energía. Entre los diferentes PAOs disponibles, los procesos de Fenton y, particularmente, los procesos de foto-Fenton (basados en la generación de HO· mediante la adición de peróxido de hidrógeno y una sal ferrosa en disolución acuosa) suponen la mejor opción debido a su elevada eficacia y bajo coste económico. Adicionalmente, los procesos de foto-Fenton pueden llevarse a cabo bajo radiación solar, ofreciendo nuevas ventajas económicas y medioambientales. Esta tesis doctoral se centra básicamente en la aplicación del proceso de foto-Fenton como etapa previa en la degradación de soluciones de azo colorantes reactivos biorrecalcitrantes, con el propósito de generar un nuevo efluente compatible con un tratamiento biológico aerobio posterior de menor coste e impacto ambiental que el primero. La evolución de parámetros clave como el color, el carbono orgánico total, la aromaticidad, la toxicidad, la biodegradabilidad, la naturaleza de los intermedios de degradación, así como el efecto de la fuente de irradiación (luz artificial, luz solar), la temperatura, el tiempo de reacción y la concentración de reactivos, proporcionan información acerca de las condiciones idóneas para el acoplamiento PAO/tratamiento biológico. Los resultados obtenidos confirman la idoneidad del PAO propuesto con este fin, tanto a escala de laboratorio como en planta piloto. Mediante el proceso de foto-Fenton aplicado bajo condiciones de oxidación suaves, las soluciones bajo estudio resultan incoloras, de naturaleza biodegradable y no tóxica. De este modo, el tratamiento combinado foto-Fenton/tratamiento biológico aerobio permite su degradación completa. La luz solar como fuente de radiación en el proceso de foto-Fenton proporciona los mejores resultados. Por otro lado, la secuencia oxidativa parece comenzar por la decoloración por rotura del grupo azo seguida de la degradación de aromáticos para formar ácidos carboxílicos alifáticos -dando lugar a la formación de CO2 y H2O- o el anillo triazina de naturaleza recalcitrante. Una parte importante de los heteroátomos presentes en la molécula original aparecen como productos finales de naturaleza inorgánica inocua.El trabajo está ampliado con un estudio económico y medioambiental del proceso secuencial foto-Fenton (luz artificial)/tratamiento biológico. La evaluación medioambiental se ha realizado mediante la herramienta de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida. En comparación con los procesos simples foto-Fenton bajo luz artificial y foto-Fenton bajo luz solar, el tratamiento combinado resulta la mejor opción en ambos contextos. Los mayores impactos se asocian, en este orden, al consumo de peróxido de hidrógeno y de energía para alimentar la luz artificial. En consecuencia, y atendiendo a los resultados obtenidos previamente, es posible concluir que el proceso de foto-Fenton asistido con luz solar como pre-tratamiento de un proceso biológico sería la mejor opción en términos de efectividad, impacto medioambiental y coste operacional. Finalmente, como alternativa a la estrategia de oxidación química/tratamiento biológico aerobio, el PAO se aplica como post-tratamiento a un proceso biológico anaerobio. Los PAOs considerados son la ozonización y el proceso de foto-Fenton. Los resultados obtenidos manifiestan la idoneidad de la secuencia propuesta, obteniéndose unos mejores niveles de degradación mediante el proceso con ozono. Estos resultados son de especial interés en futuras aplicaciones para el tratamiento de aguas residuales textiles reales. / The textile industry produces large quantities of wastewater that is highly coloured and contains large concentrations of organic matter. Due to the environmental threat that supposes its recalcitrant nature, the application of specific treatment is required prior discharge. Conventional biological, physical and chemical processes are quite inefficient to completely mineralise and decolourise these effluents. Alternatively appear the Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs), principally based on the generation of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (HO·). They may be applied as exclusive processes or combined with biological treatments in an attempt to reduce their large chemicals and energy consumption. Among available AOPs, the Fenton and, particularly, the photo-Fenton processes (based on HO· generation by means of hydrogen peroxide and a ferrous salt addition in aqueous solution) are of special interest since they achieve high reaction yields with a lower operational cost. Additionally, the photoassisted reaction presents the possibility of be driven under solar irradiation, offering further economic and environmental advantages. This doctoral dissertation is basically centred in the performance of the photo-Fenton process as a previous step to treat biorecalcitrant solutions polluted with commercial reactive azo dyes, aiming to generate a new effluent amenable to aerobic biotreatment (with a lower economic and environmental impact than the AOP). The evolution of key parameters such as the colour, the total organic carbon, the aromatic compounds content, the toxicity, the biodegradability, the generated by-products nature, as well as the type of irradiation effect (artificial light, solar light), the temperature, the reaction time and the reagents concentrations, provide information about the most suitable conditions to carry out the AOP/biological coupled treatment. Obtained results evidence the aptness of the AOP proposed with this aim, either at laboratory and pilot plant scale. With a partial oxidation run under proper mild conditions, the studied dye solutions become decolourised, biodegradable as well as non toxic. In this way, the combined photo-Fenton/biological treatment allows the complete mineralisation. The solar light as a source of irradiation provides the best results. On the other hand, the oxidative sequence appears to begin with the hydroxyl radical attack to azo groups, giving place to the solutions decolourisation. The following aromatics degradation generates either short chain carboxylic acids -finally yielding CO2 and water- or the recalcitrant triazine moiety. An important part of the heteroatoms initially present in the molecule gradually appear as innocuous final products of inorganic nature.The work is extended with an economic and environmental study of the sequential photo-Fenton (artificial light)/biological treatment process. The environmental evaluation has been realised by means of the Life Cycle Assessment tool. In comparison with single artificial light photo-Fenton process and solar driven photo-Fenton process, the combined treatment supposes the best option in both contexts. The major burdens are mainly attributed to the hydrogen peroxide requirements and the electrical energy consumption to run the artificial light, in this order. Consequently, and attaining to previously obtained results, the solar driven photo-Fenton process as a pre-treatment of a biological treatment would be the best option in terms of effectiveness, environmental impact and operational cost. Finally, as an alternative to the chemical/aerobic biological treatment, the AOP is performed as a post-treatment of an ensuing anaerobic biotreatment. Ozonation and photo-Fenton processes have been chosen for this role. Obtained results manifest the suitability of the proposed sequence, attaining the best degradation levels by means of ozonation process. These results are of special interest for real wastewater applications.

ABSTRACT As far back as the early 1900?s when it was discovered that water could be a mode of transmitting diseases, chlorine was used to disinfect water. In the 1970?s, the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) from the reaction of chlorine with natural organic matter was discovered. Since then there have been various studies on alternative disinfectants that could inactivate microorganisms and at the same time form less or no disinfection by-products. More recently the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been used to both disinfect and remove organic contaminants in drinking water. Though the use of UV irradiation has been found to be very effective in the inactivation of microorganisms, it does not provide a residual effect to maintain the water?s microbial quality in the distribution system. Due to this, a secondary disinfectant such as chlorine has to be used to achieve microbial stability, suggesting that the formation of chlorination disinfection by-products would still occur but perhaps in different quantities and with different chemical species. In this research, the use of factorial experiments and single factor experiments were used to determine the effects of pH, alkalinity and UV-fluence (dose) on the formation of three classes of disinfection by-products; haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs) and trihalomethanes (THMs). These disinfection by-products were measured in water samples following post-UV chlorination and the UV treatment was either UV photolysis or UV/H₂O₂. From the factorial experiment results, treatment of synthetic water with UV/H₂O₂, an advanced oxidation process (AOP), produced fewer post-UV chlorination disinfection by-products (PCDBPs) than UV photolysis. For chlorinated PCDBPs, the percentage difference between UV photolysis and UV/H₂O₂ was 55, 65 and 38% for total HAAs (HAA₉), total HANs (THANs) and total THMs (TTHMs) respectively. The percentage difference between UV photolysis and UV/H₂O₂ for brominated PCDBPs was 41 and 42% for HAA9 and TTHMs respectively. Both the use of pH and alkalinity proved to be factors that were significant in affecting the yields of the PCDBPs studied. Increases in alkalinity were found to increase the formation of PCDBPs in the treatment of synthetic water with UV/H₂O₂. Alkalinity had the opposite effect for PCDBP formed under UV photolysis conditions. Increases in pH always decreased the formation of PCDBPs. In the single factor experiments, haloacetic acid concentrations were unaffected as alkalinity was increased but dichloroacetonitrile and chloroform increased in concentration under treatment conditions of UV photolysis followed by chlorination. The UV/H₂O₂ treatment resulted in a decrease in concentration of the PCDBPs. In the pH studies, water samples were subjected only to the UV/H₂O₂ treatments and a reduction in concentration of PCDBPs occurred between pH 7 and 9.

A bench-scale study of the degradation of four selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) was carried out using UV and UV/H₂O₂ treatment employing low pressure (LP) and medium pressure (MP) lamps. The target substances included the pharmaceutical compounds ibuprofen, naproxen, and gemfibrozil, along with the bactericide triclosan. There were four main objectives of the study, as follows: to evaluate the removal of the target compounds using UV irradiation alone and UV/H₂O₂, to determine the reaction kinetics for direct and indirect photolysis of each selected compound, to determine the influence of major water quality parameters on the efficacy of treatment, and to compare the applied UV and UV/H₂O₂ doses to those that have been found to be effective for disinfection and removal of taste and odour compounds, respectively. For initial ultra-pure water experiments the target compounds were spiked at concentrations of approximately 250 µg/L (~1 µM). In latter ultra-pure water experiments and in the partially-treated water experiments, the selected PPCPs were spiked at a lower range (c~500-1000 ng/L), which is more representative of reported environmental concentrations. In an ultra-pure water matrix, a high LP fluence of 1000 mJ/cm² caused only triclosan to substantially degrade. Furthermore, with LP-UV/H₂O₂ only triclosan and naproxen had average percent removals above 60% at a typical disinfection fluence of 40 mJ/cm² with 100 mg/L H₂O₂. Complete degradation of all four compounds in ultra-pure water was achieved with very high fluences (compared to those used for UV disinfection) with MP-UV alone (at or above 1000 mJ/cm²) or with relatively high fluences for MP-UV/H₂O₂ (200-300 mJ/cm²) with 10 mg/L H₂O₂. Overall, when compared at similar applied fluences, the MP lamp was much more effective than the LP lamp. Furthermore, the addition of H₂O₂ typically increased removal rates, in some cases substantially, through formation and subsequent reaction of the PPCP with the •OH radical. When target substances were treated all together in an ultra-pure water solution, removals were lower than when they were treated independently at the same individual concentrations (~250 µg/L) this may simply have been the result of a higher total contaminant concentration in solution, which lessened the availability of the •OH radical and incident UV irradiation for degradation of all compounds. On the other hand, removals were improved when the combined target compounds were present at a lower individual concentration range (~750 ng/L), which suggests that removals may be concentration driven, with reduced matrix effects seen at lower overall contaminant concentrations. Furthermore, during the partially-treated water experiments, variability in treatment performance was observed with differing water quality; however, it was not evident which specific quality parameters influenced treatment effectiveness. On the other hand, substantial and sometimes complete, degradation of the target compounds was still seen in the partially-treated water with high MP-UV/H₂O₂ doses (e.g. 300 mJ/cm² + 10 mg/L H₂O₂ and 500 + 10 mg/L H₂O₂). For the kinetic experiments, compounds were spiked individually in ultra-pure water (c~250 µg/L = ~1µM). The photolysis of the target compounds during treatment was assumed to be a pseudo-first-order reaction. Kinetic parameters were determined for both direct and indirect photolysis for both lamps. The calculated rate constants confirmed the importance of •OH radicals for degradation of these compounds, especially for ibuprofen and gemfibrozil. For ibuprofen and gemfibrozil, direct photolysis rate constants could not be determined for LP-UV because very little degradation was seen at the fluences tested. LP-UV direct phototlysis rate constants for naproxen and triclosan were 0.0002 and 0.0033 cm²/mJ, respectively. Overall rate constants describing degradation of the four compounds due to LP-UV/H₂O₂ ranged from 0.0049 to 0.0124 cm²/mJ. All four compounds had fluence-based reaction rate constants for MP-UV indirect photolysis of approximately 0.01 cm²/mJ, while MP-UV direct photolysis rate constants ranged between 0.0007-0.007 cm²/mJ, with ibuprofen having the lowest and triclosan the highest. The overall trends were similar to those seen by other researchers for the removal of taste and odour compounds. For example, fluences required for substantial removal were much higher than typical disinfection doses, the MP lamp was more effective than the LP lamp (when compared solely on a fluence-basis), and the addition of H₂O₂ improved removals. On the whole, UV/H₂O₂ appears to be a very promising technology for the removal of these selected PPCPs during drinking water treatment, and is likely to be equally effective for other, similar contaminants.

A bench-scale study of the degradation of four selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) was carried out using UV and UV/H₂O₂ treatment employing low pressure (LP) and medium pressure (MP) lamps. The target substances included the pharmaceutical compounds ibuprofen, naproxen, and gemfibrozil, along with the bactericide triclosan. There were four main objectives of the study, as follows: to evaluate the removal of the target compounds using UV irradiation alone and UV/H₂O₂, to determine the reaction kinetics for direct and indirect photolysis of each selected compound, to determine the influence of major water quality parameters on the efficacy of treatment, and to compare the applied UV and UV/H₂O₂ doses to those that have been found to be effective for disinfection and removal of taste and odour compounds, respectively. For initial ultra-pure water experiments the target compounds were spiked at concentrations of approximately 250 µg/L (~1 µM). In latter ultra-pure water experiments and in the partially-treated water experiments, the selected PPCPs were spiked at a lower range (c~500-1000 ng/L), which is more representative of reported environmental concentrations. In an ultra-pure water matrix, a high LP fluence of 1000 mJ/cm² caused only triclosan to substantially degrade. Furthermore, with LP-UV/H₂O₂ only triclosan and naproxen had average percent removals above 60% at a typical disinfection fluence of 40 mJ/cm² with 100 mg/L H₂O₂. Complete degradation of all four compounds in ultra-pure water was achieved with very high fluences (compared to those used for UV disinfection) with MP-UV alone (at or above 1000 mJ/cm²) or with relatively high fluences for MP-UV/H₂O₂ (200-300 mJ/cm²) with 10 mg/L H₂O₂. Overall, when compared at similar applied fluences, the MP lamp was much more effective than the LP lamp. Furthermore, the addition of H₂O₂ typically increased removal rates, in some cases substantially, through formation and subsequent reaction of the PPCP with the •OH radical. When target substances were treated all together in an ultra-pure water solution, removals were lower than when they were treated independently at the same individual concentrations (~250 µg/L) this may simply have been the result of a higher total contaminant concentration in solution, which lessened the availability of the •OH radical and incident UV irradiation for degradation of all compounds. On the other hand, removals were improved when the combined target compounds were present at a lower individual concentration range (~750 ng/L), which suggests that removals may be concentration driven, with reduced matrix effects seen at lower overall contaminant concentrations. Furthermore, during the partially-treated water experiments, variability in treatment performance was observed with differing water quality; however, it was not evident which specific quality parameters influenced treatment effectiveness. On the other hand, substantial and sometimes complete, degradation of the target compounds was still seen in the partially-treated water with high MP-UV/H₂O₂ doses (e.g. 300 mJ/cm² + 10 mg/L H₂O₂ and 500 + 10 mg/L H₂O₂). For the kinetic experiments, compounds were spiked individually in ultra-pure water (c~250 µg/L = ~1µM). The photolysis of the target compounds during treatment was assumed to be a pseudo-first-order reaction. Kinetic parameters were determined for both direct and indirect photolysis for both lamps. The calculated rate constants confirmed the importance of •OH radicals for degradation of these compounds, especially for ibuprofen and gemfibrozil. For ibuprofen and gemfibrozil, direct photolysis rate constants could not be determined for LP-UV because very little degradation was seen at the fluences tested. LP-UV direct phototlysis rate constants for naproxen and triclosan were 0.0002 and 0.0033 cm²/mJ, respectively. Overall rate constants describing degradation of the four compounds due to LP-UV/H₂O₂ ranged from 0.0049 to 0.0124 cm²/mJ. All four compounds had fluence-based reaction rate constants for MP-UV indirect photolysis of approximately 0.01 cm²/mJ, while MP-UV direct photolysis rate constants ranged between 0.0007-0.007 cm²/mJ, with ibuprofen having the lowest and triclosan the highest. The overall trends were similar to those seen by other researchers for the removal of taste and odour compounds. For example, fluences required for substantial removal were much higher than typical disinfection doses, the MP lamp was more effective than the LP lamp (when compared solely on a fluence-basis), and the addition of H₂O₂ improved removals. On the whole, UV/H₂O₂ appears to be a very promising technology for the removal of these selected PPCPs during drinking water treatment, and is likely to be equally effective for other, similar contaminants.

ABSTRACT As far back as the early 1900?s when it was discovered that water could be a mode of transmitting diseases, chlorine was used to disinfect water. In the 1970?s, the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) from the reaction of chlorine with natural organic matter was discovered. Since then there have been various studies on alternative disinfectants that could inactivate microorganisms and at the same time form less or no disinfection by-products. More recently the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been used to both disinfect and remove organic contaminants in drinking water. Though the use of UV irradiation has been found to be very effective in the inactivation of microorganisms, it does not provide a residual effect to maintain the water?s microbial quality in the distribution system. Due to this, a secondary disinfectant such as chlorine has to be used to achieve microbial stability, suggesting that the formation of chlorination disinfection by-products would still occur but perhaps in different quantities and with different chemical species. In this research, the use of factorial experiments and single factor experiments were used to determine the effects of pH, alkalinity and UV-fluence (dose) on the formation of three classes of disinfection by-products; haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs) and trihalomethanes (THMs). These disinfection by-products were measured in water samples following post-UV chlorination and the UV treatment was either UV photolysis or UV/H₂O₂. From the factorial experiment results, treatment of synthetic water with UV/H₂O₂, an advanced oxidation process (AOP), produced fewer post-UV chlorination disinfection by-products (PCDBPs) than UV photolysis. For chlorinated PCDBPs, the percentage difference between UV photolysis and UV/H₂O₂ was 55, 65 and 38% for total HAAs (HAA₉), total HANs (THANs) and total THMs (TTHMs) respectively. The percentage difference between UV photolysis and UV/H₂O₂ for brominated PCDBPs was 41 and 42% for HAA9 and TTHMs respectively. Both the use of pH and alkalinity proved to be factors that were significant in affecting the yields of the PCDBPs studied. Increases in alkalinity were found to increase the formation of PCDBPs in the treatment of synthetic water with UV/H₂O₂. Alkalinity had the opposite effect for PCDBP formed under UV photolysis conditions. Increases in pH always decreased the formation of PCDBPs. In the single factor experiments, haloacetic acid concentrations were unaffected as alkalinity was increased but dichloroacetonitrile and chloroform increased in concentration under treatment conditions of UV photolysis followed by chlorination. The UV/H₂O₂ treatment resulted in a decrease in concentration of the PCDBPs. In the pH studies, water samples were subjected only to the UV/H₂O₂ treatments and a reduction in concentration of PCDBPs occurred between pH 7 and 9.

A bench-scale study of the degradation of four selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) was carried out using UV and UV/H₂O₂ treatment employing low pressure (LP) and medium pressure (MP) lamps. The target substances included the pharmaceutical compounds ibuprofen, naproxen, and gemfibrozil, along with the bactericide triclosan. There were four main objectives of the study, as follows: to evaluate the removal of the target compounds using UV irradiation alone and UV/H₂O₂, to determine the reaction kinetics for direct and indirect photolysis of each selected compound, to determine the influence of major water quality parameters on the efficacy of treatment, and to compare the applied UV and UV/H₂O₂ doses to those that have been found to be effective for disinfection and removal of taste and odour compounds, respectively. For initial ultra-pure water experiments the target compounds were spiked at concentrations of approximately 250 µg/L (~1 µM). In latter ultra-pure water experiments and in the partially-treated water experiments, the selected PPCPs were spiked at a lower range (c~500-1000 ng/L), which is more representative of reported environmental concentrations. In an ultra-pure water matrix, a high LP fluence of 1000 mJ/cm² caused only triclosan to substantially degrade. Furthermore, with LP-UV/H₂O₂ only triclosan and naproxen had average percent removals above 60% at a typical disinfection fluence of 40 mJ/cm² with 100 mg/L H₂O₂. Complete degradation of all four compounds in ultra-pure water was achieved with very high fluences (compared to those used for UV disinfection) with MP-UV alone (at or above 1000 mJ/cm²) or with relatively high fluences for MP-UV/H₂O₂ (200-300 mJ/cm²) with 10 mg/L H₂O₂. Overall, when compared at similar applied fluences, the MP lamp was much more effective than the LP lamp. Furthermore, the addition of H₂O₂ typically increased removal rates, in some cases substantially, through formation and subsequent reaction of the PPCP with the •OH radical. When target substances were treated all together in an ultra-pure water solution, removals were lower than when they were treated independently at the same individual concentrations (~250 µg/L) this may simply have been the result of a higher total contaminant concentration in solution, which lessened the availability of the •OH radical and incident UV irradiation for degradation of all compounds. On the other hand, removals were improved when the combined target compounds were present at a lower individual concentration range (~750 ng/L), which suggests that removals may be concentration driven, with reduced matrix effects seen at lower overall contaminant concentrations. Furthermore, during the partially-treated water experiments, variability in treatment performance was observed with differing water quality; however, it was not evident which specific quality parameters influenced treatment effectiveness. On the other hand, substantial and sometimes complete, degradation of the target compounds was still seen in the partially-treated water with high MP-UV/H₂O₂ doses (e.g. 300 mJ/cm² + 10 mg/L H₂O₂ and 500 + 10 mg/L H₂O₂). For the kinetic experiments, compounds were spiked individually in ultra-pure water (c~250 µg/L = ~1µM). The photolysis of the target compounds during treatment was assumed to be a pseudo-first-order reaction. Kinetic parameters were determined for both direct and indirect photolysis for both lamps. The calculated rate constants confirmed the importance of •OH radicals for degradation of these compounds, especially for ibuprofen and gemfibrozil. For ibuprofen and gemfibrozil, direct photolysis rate constants could not be determined for LP-UV because very little degradation was seen at the fluences tested. LP-UV direct phototlysis rate constants for naproxen and triclosan were 0.0002 and 0.0033 cm²/mJ, respectively. Overall rate constants describing degradation of the four compounds due to LP-UV/H₂O₂ ranged from 0.0049 to 0.0124 cm²/mJ. All four compounds had fluence-based reaction rate constants for MP-UV indirect photolysis of approximately 0.01 cm²/mJ, while MP-UV direct photolysis rate constants ranged between 0.0007-0.007 cm²/mJ, with ibuprofen having the lowest and triclosan the highest. The overall trends were similar to those seen by other researchers for the removal of taste and odour compounds. For example, fluences required for substantial removal were much higher than typical disinfection doses, the MP lamp was more effective than the LP lamp (when compared solely on a fluence-basis), and the addition of H₂O₂ improved removals. On the whole, UV/H₂O₂ appears to be a very promising technology for the removal of these selected PPCPs during drinking water treatment, and is likely to be equally effective for other, similar contaminants.

A bench-scale study of the degradation of four selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) was carried out using UV and UV/H₂O₂ treatment employing low pressure (LP) and medium pressure (MP) lamps. The target substances included the pharmaceutical compounds ibuprofen, naproxen, and gemfibrozil, along with the bactericide triclosan. There were four main objectives of the study, as follows: to evaluate the removal of the target compounds using UV irradiation alone and UV/H₂O₂, to determine the reaction kinetics for direct and indirect photolysis of each selected compound, to determine the influence of major water quality parameters on the efficacy of treatment, and to compare the applied UV and UV/H₂O₂ doses to those that have been found to be effective for disinfection and removal of taste and odour compounds, respectively. For initial ultra-pure water experiments the target compounds were spiked at concentrations of approximately 250 µg/L (~1 µM). In latter ultra-pure water experiments and in the partially-treated water experiments, the selected PPCPs were spiked at a lower range (c~500-1000 ng/L), which is more representative of reported environmental concentrations. In an ultra-pure water matrix, a high LP fluence of 1000 mJ/cm² caused only triclosan to substantially degrade. Furthermore, with LP-UV/H₂O₂ only triclosan and naproxen had average percent removals above 60% at a typical disinfection fluence of 40 mJ/cm² with 100 mg/L H₂O₂. Complete degradation of all four compounds in ultra-pure water was achieved with very high fluences (compared to those used for UV disinfection) with MP-UV alone (at or above 1000 mJ/cm²) or with relatively high fluences for MP-UV/H₂O₂ (200-300 mJ/cm²) with 10 mg/L H₂O₂. Overall, when compared at similar applied fluences, the MP lamp was much more effective than the LP lamp. Furthermore, the addition of H₂O₂ typically increased removal rates, in some cases substantially, through formation and subsequent reaction of the PPCP with the •OH radical. When target substances were treated all together in an ultra-pure water solution, removals were lower than when they were treated independently at the same individual concentrations (~250 µg/L) this may simply have been the result of a higher total contaminant concentration in solution, which lessened the availability of the •OH radical and incident UV irradiation for degradation of all compounds. On the other hand, removals were improved when the combined target compounds were present at a lower individual concentration range (~750 ng/L), which suggests that removals may be concentration driven, with reduced matrix effects seen at lower overall contaminant concentrations. Furthermore, during the partially-treated water experiments, variability in treatment performance was observed with differing water quality; however, it was not evident which specific quality parameters influenced treatment effectiveness. On the other hand, substantial and sometimes complete, degradation of the target compounds was still seen in the partially-treated water with high MP-UV/H₂O₂ doses (e.g. 300 mJ/cm² + 10 mg/L H₂O₂ and 500 + 10 mg/L H₂O₂). For the kinetic experiments, compounds were spiked individually in ultra-pure water (c~250 µg/L = ~1µM). The photolysis of the target compounds during treatment was assumed to be a pseudo-first-order reaction. Kinetic parameters were determined for both direct and indirect photolysis for both lamps. The calculated rate constants confirmed the importance of •OH radicals for degradation of these compounds, especially for ibuprofen and gemfibrozil. For ibuprofen and gemfibrozil, direct photolysis rate constants could not be determined for LP-UV because very little degradation was seen at the fluences tested. LP-UV direct phototlysis rate constants for naproxen and triclosan were 0.0002 and 0.0033 cm²/mJ, respectively. Overall rate constants describing degradation of the four compounds due to LP-UV/H₂O₂ ranged from 0.0049 to 0.0124 cm²/mJ. All four compounds had fluence-based reaction rate constants for MP-UV indirect photolysis of approximately 0.01 cm²/mJ, while MP-UV direct photolysis rate constants ranged between 0.0007-0.007 cm²/mJ, with ibuprofen having the lowest and triclosan the highest. The overall trends were similar to those seen by other researchers for the removal of taste and odour compounds. For example, fluences required for substantial removal were much higher than typical disinfection doses, the MP lamp was more effective than the LP lamp (when compared solely on a fluence-basis), and the addition of H₂O₂ improved removals. On the whole, UV/H₂O₂ appears to be a very promising technology for the removal of these selected PPCPs during drinking water treatment, and is likely to be equally effective for other, similar contaminants.

<p>In order to meet disinfection guidelines, wastewater utilities must achieve a high level of treatment before discharging treated water for irrigation or industrial use. However, public pressure to reduce disinfection by-products and pharmaceutically-active compounds, recently-promulgated regulations on chlorine-resistant microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium parvum, and growth in population and water demand have driven an interest in alternatives to chlorination. The WateReuse Foundation has funded WRF 02-009 (Innovative Treatment Technologies for Reclaimed Water), which is a survey of current and emerging reuse water treatment technologies. The goal of the project is to evaluate treatment technologies can provide adequate recycled water effluent without the cost of reverse osmosis (RO) or the disinfection by-products (DBPs) formed during chlorination.</p><p>The inactivation of indigenous microorganisms (total and fecal coliform bacteria, and total aerobic spores) and spiked surrogate, respiratory, and enteric viruses (MS-2 bacteriophage, adenovirus type 4, reovirus type 3, and coxsackievirus type B5) and chemical degradation by wastewater treatment technologies was evaluated on the bench-scale. These include: low- and medium-pressure UV, LPUV/H₂O₂, ozonation, O₃/H₂O₂, peracetic acid (PAA), LPUV/PAA, chlorination, chloramination, and ultrafiltration. The applicability of the candidate disinfection methods, especially emerging and comparatively untested methods such as PAA and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), was studied through comparison of their performance and the important water matrix parameters (e.g., alkalinity, BOD, TSS, etc.).</p><p>Of the chemical disinfectants, molecular ozone and free chlorine were the most effective, with substantial coliform and virus kill at low doses. Combined chlorine in the form of monochloramine had a reduced disinfectant capacity than free chlorine, and peracetic acid (PAA) performed equally as well as free chlorine with respect to coliform bacteria in some instances but had little to no impact on spiked MS2 bacteriophage. None of the aforementioned disinfectants had an appreciable impact on indigenous aerobic spore-forming bacteria due to their physiology. UV and O₃ rapidly killed human enteric and respiratory viruses, but a consistent benefit by AOPs over their base technologies was not observed for any of their base technologies.</p><p>Low and medium-pressure UV inactivated free-floating indigenous coliform bacteria almost immediately, while slower inactivation rates at higher UV fluences illustrated the "tailing" behavior observed when bacteria are embedded in or shielded by particulate matter. Log-linear inactivation of spiked viruses and indigenous aerobic spores by UV was consistent across the utility waters. The UV-based advanced oxidation processes (UV/H₂O₂ and UV/PAA) destroyed spiked organic compounds at much higher rates than direct UV photolysis, while O₃, with or without H₂O₂ , oxidized spiked compounds and reduced estrogenicity (EEQ) at low doses. Recalcitrant chlorinated hydrocarbons such as TCEP were only moderately removed by the tested AOPs, but low doses of O₃ (3 ppm residual O₃) reduced estrogenic activity by 99%. Like other disinfection processes, AOP performance is dependant on pretreatment, especially concerning particulates.</p> / Dissertation