Degradation of pharmaceuticals in UV (LP)/H2O2 reactors simulated by means of kinetic modeling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

UV/H2O2 treatment is a well-established technique to degrade organic micropollutants. A CFD model in combination with an advanced kinetic model is presented to predict the degradation of organic micropollutants in UV (LP)/H2O2 reactors, accounting for the hydraulics, fluence rate, complex (photo)chemical reactions in the water matrix and the interactions between these processes. The model incorporates compound degradation by means of direct UV photolysis, OH radical and carbonate radical reactions. Measurements of pharmaceutical degradations in pilot-scale UV/H2O2 reactors are presented under different operating conditions. A comparison between measured and modeled degradation for a group of 35 pharmaceuticals resulted in good model predictions for most of the compounds. The research also shows that the degradation of organic micropollutants can be dependent on temperature, which is relevant for full-scale installations that are operated at different temperatures over the year.

Degradation of 40 selected pharmaceuticals by UV/H2O2.

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in source waters is increasing. Although UV advanced oxidation is known to be an effective barrier against micropollutants, degradation rates are only available for limited amounts of pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the degradation of a large group of pharmaceuticals has been studied in this research for the UV/H2O2 process under different conditions, including pharmaceuticals of which the degradation by UV/H2O2 was never reported before (e.g., metformin, paroxetine, pindolol, sotalol, venlafaxine, etc.). Monochromatic low pressure (LP) and polychromatic medium pressure (MP) lamps were used for three different water matrices. In order to have well defined hydraulic conditions, all experiments were conducted in a collimated beam apparatus. Degradation rates for the pharmaceuticals were determined. For those compounds used in this research that are also reported in literature, measured degradation results are in good agreement with literature data. Pharmaceutical degradation for only photolysis with LP lamps is small, which is increased by using a MP lamp. Most of the pharmaceuticals are well removed when applying both UV (either LP or MP) and H2O2. However, differences in degradation rates between pharmaceuticals can be large. For example, ketoprofen, prednisolone, pindolol are very well removed by UV/H2O2, whereas metformin, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide are very little removed by UV/H2O2.

Review of photochemical reaction constants of organic micropollutants required for UV advanced oxidation processes in water.

Emerging organic contaminants (pharmaceutical compounds, personal care products, pesticides, hormones, surfactants, fire retardants, fuel additives etc.) are increasingly found in water sources and therefore need to be controlled by water treatment technology. UV advanced oxidation technologies are often used as an effective barrier against organic contaminants. The combined operation of direct photolysis and reaction with hydroxyl radicals ensures good results for a wide range of contaminants. In this review, an overview is provided of the photochemical reaction parameters (quantum yield, molar absorption, OH radical reaction rate constant) of more than 100 organic micropollutants. These parameters allow for a prediction of organic contaminant removal by UV advanced oxidation systems. An example of contaminant degradation is elaborated for a simplified UV/H(2)O(2) system.