Engineers use electricity to clean up toxic water
Powerful electrochemical process destroys water contaminants, such as pesticides

Date:
July 7, 2020
Source:
University of Sydney
Summary:
Powerful electrochemical process destroys water contaminants,
such as pesticides. Wastewater is a significant environment
issue. Researchers say the technology could be readily applied
to the wine industry, paper processing and pharmaceutical
manufacturing.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of engineers may be one step closer to cleaning up heavily
contaminated industrial wastewater streams.


========================================================================== Researchers from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
developed an electrochemical oxidation process with the aim of cleaning up complex wastewater that contained a toxic cocktail of chemical pollutants.

"Our study, published in Algal Research, involved industrial wastewater
that had been heavily contaminated with a cocktail of organic and
inorganic species during a biofuel production process," said Julia
Ciarlini Jungers Soares, who is completing a PhD in Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering under the supervision of Dr Alejandro Montoya.

The wastewater, which contained carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, was
generated in a pilot plant, designed by the team for the production of
biofuels using naturally abundant microalgae.

The process involved treating wastewater with electricity using
specialised electrodes. They discharged electricity, then drove
oxidation reactions near the electrode surfaces, transforming the organic contaminants into harmless gasses, ions or minerals.

"We have employed an incredibly powerful process that eliminates even the
most persistent non-biodegradable pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals
and pesticides, as well as various classes of organic compounds that
can be found in many industrial effluents," she said.

"The process is relatively simple, does not require the addition of
chemicals or severe operation conditions, and does not produce additional
waste streams." "Wastewater is a significant issue for our environment,
as well as for many industries who use substantial volumes of water
in their processes, such as in reactions, transport, and washing and
cooling. Finding suitable solutions for reuse or disposal is often very challenging and costly.

"The electrochemical method that we used can be readily applied to
industries that must comply with strict regulations for wastewater
disposal, such as pulp and paper processing, wineries, as well as pharmaceutical production facilities.

"Worldwide, researchers are investigating methods for the development
of biofuels from algae. Developing alternatives for the treatment
and reuse of this industrial effluent is a hot research topic and can
bring opportunities for energy and resource recovery within a circular bio-economy framework." The team will soon carry out research focused on specific contaminants to better understand the chemical transformations
that take place during electrochemical oxidation and will upscale the
process.

A 2017 UNESCO report found that the opportunities from exploiting
wastewater as a resource were vast, and that safely managed wastewater
is an affordable and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and
other recoverable materials.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Sydney. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Julia Ciarlini, Leonardo Alves, Gobinath P. Rajarathnam, Brian
S. Haynes,
Alejandro Montoya. Electrochemical oxidation of nitrogen-rich post-
hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater. Algal Research, 2020; 48:
101919 DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2020.101919 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200707113206.htm

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