Grantee Research Project Results
Integration of Filtration and Advanced Oxidation: Development of a Membrane Liquid-Phase Plasma Reactor
EPA Grant Number: R835332Title: Integration of Filtration and Advanced Oxidation: Development of a Membrane Liquid-Phase Plasma Reactor
Investigators: Bellona, Christopher , Holsen, Thomas M. , Dickenson, Eric , Mededovic Thagard, Selma
Institution: Clarkson University , Southern Nevada Water Authority
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: August 16, 2012 through August 15, 2016 (Extended to August 15, 2017)
Project Amount: $499,779
RFA: Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems (2011) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water
Objective:
The main objective of this study is to engineer, develop and demonstrate an integrated process comprised of membrane technology (i.e., ceramic NF, UF or MF) and electrical discharge plasma generated via a novel reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) electrode material. The reasons for this integration are four-fold: (1) the novel RVC electrode material will significantly improve the efficiency and longevity of the electrical discharge; (2) the membrane process protects the porous electrode material from clogging and removes constituents targeted in conventional water treatment processes and that reduce the effectiveness of the advanced oxidation processes; (3) both the membrane and electrical discharge remove pathogens; and (4) electrical discharge is effective for the destruction of a wide variety of organic contaminants and contaminant precursors.
The major hypotheses that will be tested are as follows:
H1: Significant energy reduction and increases contaminant degradation rates can be achieved by optimizing the RVC electrode porosity, thickness and configuration, and power supply parameters.
H2: The electrical discharge results in fundamentally different reaction pathways than ‘conventional’ AOPs due to reactions with UV light and reductive species.
H3: Degradation efficiency can be significantly improved by the removal of particles and dissolved organic matter by membrane treatment.
H4: The membrane/plasma technology can be scaled to larger systems.
Approach:
A tiered approach will be undertaken to achieve the overall project goal of demonstrating the integrated membrane/plasma process as an innovative, affordable, sustainable and effective treatment technology for small treatment systems. The team will first use a regimented approach to carefully select contaminants to investigate and evaluate the plasma process. Fundamental bench-scale studies will then be undertaken to investigate and optimize the plasma and membrane systems as individual and integrated processes. Findings from fundamental studies will be used to develop a scalable engineered membrane/plasma process that will be tested under carefully controlled conditions. Finally, long-term testing will be conducted with the developed system at small treatment systems to fully demonstrate the scalable membrane/plasma system.
Expected Results:
The successful development of this process will result in a technology that is scalable, robust, requires minimal chemical input, has a small foot-print, and achieves a finished water quality better than treatment systems that require multiple technologies. Through careful selection of contaminants to elucidate plasma reaction mechanisms and evaluate plasma efficiency, we will demonstrate the effectiveness and this process for removing broad groups of contaminants. The developed process will have unique treatment capabilities (i.e., targets both suspended and dissolved constituents) enabling the production of high-quality water from impaired sources, which will foster water recycling, a decreased reliance on imported water, and more efficient management of water supplies.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 22 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 6 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Drinking water, chemicals, engineering, innovative technology, membrane filtration, Advanced Oxidation, Plasma Reactor,Progress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.