vacuum
uv process for persistent micropollutants removal

Project description

The presence of organic micropollutants (OMPs), such as pharmaceuticals, personal care compounds, and hormones, has emerged as a threat to human and environmental health. UV radiation-based technologies have been developed to remove OMPs from water. Especially, with the application of UV treatment at the low wavelength, 185nm as in vacuum UV, even the most persistent micropollutants, such as PFAS, can be removed and degraded. Photons of 185nm are strongly absorbed by water, generating strong oxidants (e.g. HO∙) and reductants (e.g. e_aq^– and H∙) for the degradation of OMPs. The reaction kinetics of complex chemistry during the process is not fully understood. At Wetsus, we will combine kinetic modeling with experimental observation to better understand and utilize the VUV technology.

This project will focus on finding optimal experimental (pH, DO, time, etc,.) conditions for PFAS degradation in VUV processes using a collimated beam reactor.

Main tasks:

• Perform PFAS degradation experiments in collimated beam reactor;
• Analyze water samples using different methods.