Disinfection through Advance Oxidation Processes: Optimization and Application on Real Wastewater Matrices

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Water Treatment Technologies
• Oxidation Processes

Background:

• Disinfection is crucial for water treatment to prevent pathogenic infections.
• Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) offer effective disinfection strategies.
• Hydroxyl and sulfate radicals are potent oxidants used in AOPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate and optimize the Fenton process (FP) and Fenton-like process (FLP) for water disinfection.
• To evaluate the efficacy of FP and FLP in removing *Escherichia coli*.
• To determine optimal reaction conditions for both disinfection processes.

Main Methods:

• Experimental design methodology was employed for process optimization.
• Synthetic water was used with *Escherichia coli* as the model microorganism.
• Variables optimized included precursor (H2O2, PMS) and catalyst (Fe+2) concentrations, and pH.

Main Results:

• Optimized conditions were determined for both FP (132.36 mM H2O2, 0.56 mM Fe+2, pH 3.26) and FLP (3.82 mM PMS, 0.40 mM Fe+2).
• Optimized FP and FLP were applied to real wastewater matrices.
• Both processes demonstrated high oxidant power, indicating promising disinfection capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The Fenton process and Fenton-like process are effective for water disinfection.
• Optimized FP and FLP show potential for application in real wastewater treatment plants.
• The generation of hydroxyl and sulfate radicals is key to the high efficacy of these disinfection methods.