Photocatalysis in Membrane Bioreactor Effluent: Assessment of Inhibition by Dissolved Organics
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 3
Abstract
Photocatalysis has been proposed as a synergistic addition to ultraviolet (UV) dosing systems to provide a form of advanced oxidation. The photocatalytic process, however, is significantly inhibited by dissolved organic matter (DOM). Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) offer an opportunity to simultaneously control DOM and provide a structure to support photocatalysts. Here, effluent organic matter (EfOM) samples from two MBR facilities employing membranes with different nominal pore sizes were assessed for their inhibition of photocatalysis. Photocatalytic activity was quantified by measuring the photodegradation of a probe compound, para-chlorobenzoic acid. Analysis of inhibition profiles of both EfOM and a well-known quencher, tert-butyl alcohol (-BuOH) showed that MBR EfOM inhibited photocatalysis via competitive adsorption and surface reactions as well as reactions in the bulk phase. EfOM concentrations below did not inhibit photocatalysis, whereas EfOM concentrations of above completely negated photocatalytic action. The results suggest that avoiding unwanted quenching reactions may be possible with proper operational control of the upstream MBR process. Insights into the relevance of radical quenching mechanisms are offered with regard to applying to wastewater treatment.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education program under Grant No. IIA-1243433. The authors would like to thank the operators at the Dundee and Traverse City MBR wastewater treatment plants for providing access to their facilities and help with collecting wastewater samples for analysis. The authors also thank Alex Casabuena for his help collecting and transporting the samples.
References
Bekbolet, M., and I. Balcioglu. 1996. “Photocatalytic degradation kinetics of humic acid in aqueous dispersions: The influence of hydrogen peroxide and bicarbonate ion.” Water Sci. Technol. 34 (9): 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0273-1223(96)00789-5.
Brame, J., M. C. Long, Q. L. Li, and P. Alvarez. 2015. “Inhibitory effect of natural organic matter or other background constituents on photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes: Mechanistic model development and validation.” Water Res. 84: 362–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2015.07.044.
Buxton, G. V., C. L. Greenstock, W. P. Helman, and A. B. Ross. 1988. “Critical review of rate constants for reactions of hydrated electrons, hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl radicals () in aqueous solution.” J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 17 (2): 513–886. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.555805.
Chong, M. N., B. Jin, C. W. K. Chow, and C. Saint. 2010. “Recent developments in photocatalytic water treatment technology: A review.” Water Res. 44 (10): 2997–3027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2010.02.039.
Edzwald, J. K., and J. E. Tobiason. 1999. “Enhanced coagulation: US requirements and a broader view.” Water Sci. Technol. 40 (9): 63–70. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1999.0444.
Eggins, B. R., F. L. Palmer, and J. A. Byrne. 1997. “Photocatalytic treatment of humic substances in drinking water.” Water Res. 31 (5): 1223–1226. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(96)00341-7.
Enriquez, R., and P. Pichat. 2001. “Interactions of humic acid, quinoline, and TiO2 in water in relation to quinoline photocatalytic removal.” Langmuir 17 (20): 6132–6137. https://doi.org/10.1021/la010599w.
Grant, J. A., and R. Hofmann. 2016. “A comparative study of the hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity of activated sludge and membrane bioreactor wastewater effluents.” Water Sci. Technol. 73 (9): 2067–2073. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2016.043.
Guo, B., S. D. Snow, B. J. Starr, I. Xagoraraki, and V. V. Tarabara. 2018. “Photocatalytic inactivation of human adenovirus 40: Effect of dissolved organic matter and prefiltration.” Separ. Purif. Technol. 193: 193–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2017.11.012.
Han, W. Y., P. Y. Zhang, W. P. Zhu, J. J. Yin, and L. S. Li. 2004. “Photocatalysis of p-chlorobenzoic acid in aqueous solution under irradiation of 254 nm and 185 nm UV light.” Water Res. 38 (19): 4197–4203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2004.07.019.
Her, N., G. Amy, J. Sohn, and U. Gunten. 2008. “UV absorbance ratio index with size exclusion chromatography (URI-SEC) as an NOM property indicator.” J. Water Supply Res. Technol.-Aqua 57 (1): 35–44. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2008.029.
Huang, B. C., Y. F. Guan, W. Chen, and H. Q. Yu. 2017. “Membrane fouling characteristics and mitigation in a coagulation-assisted microfiltration process for municipal wastewater pretreatment.” Water Res. 123: 216–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.06.080.
Juang, L. C., D. H. Tseng, Y. M. Chen, G. U. Semblante, and S. J. You. 2013. “The effect soluble microbial products (SMP) on the quality and fouling potential of MBR effluent.” Desalination 326: 96–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2013.07.005.
Judd, S. 2008. “The status of membrane bioreactor technology.” Trends Biotechnol. 26 (2): 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2007.11.005.
Konstantinou, I. K., and T. A. Albanis. 2004. “-assisted photocatalytic degradation of azo dyes in aqueous solution: Kinetic and mechanistic investigations: A review.” Appl. Catal. B 49 (1): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2003.11.010.
Lim, T.-T., P.-S. Yap, M. Srinivasan, and A. G. Fane. 2011. “ composites for synergistic adsorption-photocatalysis processes: present challenges and further developments for water treatment and reclamation.” Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 (13): 1173–1230. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643380903488664.
Maizel, A. C., and C. K. Remucal. 2017. “Molecular composition and photochemical reactivity of size-fractionated dissolved organic matter.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 51 (4): 2113–2123. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05140.
Matilainen, A., E. T. Gjessing, T. Lahtinen, L. Hed, A. Bhatnagar, and M. Sillanpaa. 2011. “An overview of the methods used in the characterisation of natural organic matter (NOM) in relation to drinking water treatment.” Chemosphere 83 (11): 1431–1442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.01.018.
Rosario-Ortiz, F. L., E. C. Wert, and S. A. Snyder. 2010. “Evaluation of treatment for the oxidation of pharmaceuticals in wastewater.” Water Res. 44 (5): 1440–1448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2009.10.031.
Sabin, F., T. Türk, and A. Vogler. 1992. “Photo-oxidation of organic compound in the presence of titanium dioxide: determination of the efficiency.” J. Photochem. Photobiol. A-Chem. 63 (1): 99–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/1010-6030(92)85157-P.
Starr, B. J., V. V. Tarabara, M. Herrera-Robledo, M. Zhou, S. Roualdès, and A. Ayral. 2016. “Coating porous membranes with a photocatalyst: Comparison of LbL self-assembly and plasma-enhanced CVD techniques.” J. Membr. Sci. 514: 340–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2016.04.050.
Sun, Y., and J. J. Pignatello. 1995. “Evidence for a surface dual hole-radical mechanism in the titanium dioxide photocatalytic oxidation of 2, 4-D.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 29 (8): 2065–2072. https://doi.org/10.1021/es00008a028.
Vanderford, B. J., F. L. Rosario-Ortiz, and S. A. Snyder. 2007. “Analysis of p-chlorobenzoic acid in water by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.” J. Chromatogr. A 1164 (1–2): 219–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2007.07.035.
Wiszniowski, J., D. Robert, J. Surmacz-Gorska, K. Miksch, and J.-V. Weber. 2002. “Photocatalytic decomposition of humic acids on : Part I: Discussion of adsorption and mechanism.” J. Photochem. Photobiol. A: Chem. 152 (1): 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1010-6030(02)00022-9.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 3 • March 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 9, 2018
Accepted: Sep 12, 2018
Published online: Jan 12, 2019
Published in print: Mar 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jun 12, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.