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Updated: Dec 15, 2025

Implementation of a Hyperbolic Vortex Plasma Reactor for the Removal of Micropollutants in Water
Published on: July 25, 2025
Removal of micropollutants by an electrochemically driven UV/chlorine process for decentralized water treatment
Yinqiao Zhang1, Huijiao Wang1, Yang Li1
1School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Abstract:
The ultraviolet/chlorine (UV/Cl2) process is an emerging advanced oxidation technology for micropollutant abatement in water and wastewater treatment. However, the application of the conventional UV/Cl2 process in decentralized systems is limited by the transport and management of liquid chlorine. To overcome this limitation, this study evaluated an electrochemically driven UV/Cl2 (E-UV/Cl2) process for micropollutant abatement under conditions simulating decentralized water treatment. The E-UV/Cl2 process combines UV irradiation with in situ electrochemical Cl2 production from anodic oxidation of chloride (Cl-) in source waters. The results show that with typical Cl- concentrations present in water sources for decentralized systems (30-300 mg/L Cl-), sufficient amounts of chlorine could be quickly electrochemically produced at the anode to enable E-UV/Cl2 process for water treatment. Due to its multiple mechanisms for micropollutant abatement (direct photolysis, direct electrolysis, Cl2-mediated oxidation, as well as hydroxyl radical and reactive chlorine species oxidation), the E-UV/Cl2 process effectively eliminated all micropollutants (trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, metoprolol, and carbamazepine) spiked in a surface water in 5 min. In contrast, at least one micropollutant with ∼20-80% residual concentrations could still be detected in the water treated by 10 min of UV irradiation, chlorination, electrolysis, and the conventional UV/Cl2 process under similar experimental conditions. The electrical energy per order (EEO) for micropollutant abatement ranged from 0.15 to 1.8 kWh/m3 for the E-UV/Cl2 process, which is generally comparable to that for the conventional UV/Cl2 process (0.14-2.7 kWh/m3). These results suggest that by in-situ generating Cl2 from anodic oxidation of Cl-, the E-UV/Cl2 process can overcome the barrier of the conventional UV/Cl2 process and thus provide a promising technology for micropollutant abatement in decentralized water treatment systems.
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