REMOVAL OF EMERGING CONTAMINANTS FROM UWWTPS BY SOLAR DRIVEN AOPS

The purpose of this work was to propose a municipal wastewater treatment method based on solar AOPs permitting reuse of the treated wastewater. Experiments were performed in a pilot compound parabolic collector (CPC) solar plant at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria. For elimination of ECs (determined by HPLC-QTRAP-MS) at extremely low concentrations in UWWTP effluents for reuse, treatment with a much lower catalyst (TiO2) concentration might be possible. One of the main drawbacks of reducing catalyst loads is the loss of useful solar photons passing through the reactor without reacting with TiO2. This work also shows the treatment of real effluents with solar photo-Fenton. Although the most degradation took place during the Fenton process, photo-Fenton was necessary to degrade all ECs below their limit of detection. Complete disinfection of the effluents could also be achieved.