Advanced Oxidation Applied to Water Contaminant Degradation and Energy Recovery

Abstract

With the continued increase of human and industrial waste in our society, the treatment of wastewater is becoming a challenging task as the demand for more effective treatment methods and efficient technologies for water recycling is higher than ever before. The number and flexibility of current water treatment practices have been found to be not sufficient against a growing number of contaminants of concern, including pharmaceuticals and other industrial chemicals. Coupled with the need for cleaner water, the need for affordable, clean, and easily-produced energy is an ever-growing cause for concern. As a result of these health and environmental interests, the need for technology to not only rid water of contaminants but to produce is energy is evolving. In this work, we investigate a method for using photocatalysis to recover hydrogen gas (H2) as an energy source from the treatment of wastewater via the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films. Some preliminary results will be presented and an outline for a mathematical-computational model for reactor-cell scale-up will be outlined in this contribution. Finally, further research efforts will also be aligned.