CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Qin, Siyan |
|---|---|
| Title | Identifying the optimal parameters for disinfecting microorganisms in an electrochemical water disinfection process |
| Summary | Electrochemical water disinfection is considered to be an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for eliminating microorganisms and organic pollutants in wastewater. A new method called the Arvia process combines electrochemical treatment with physical adsorption using a graphite adsorbent Nyex. This report evaluates the treatment performance of the Arvia process over the 48-hour operation. Three key parameters, the current intensity, the presence of chlorine and pH in the bulk solution, are analysed to investigate the optimal conditions for operation. Test waters used in this project were artificially inoculated with Shewanella oneidensis. High current intensity (0.5A) and low current intensity (0.18A) were applied to examine the effect of applied current. The results sugges that the current contributes to S.oneidensis inactivation, but for a long-term operation, low current intensity is more appropriate because high current intensity causes Nyex degradation, which decreases adsorption capacity. Meanwhile, the presence of chlorine enhances an “electro chlorination&#x 201d; mechanism, resulting in more strong disinfectant hypochlorous acid being produced and causing cell death. pH is a critical issue since it not only influences the dominant chlorine species in the bulk solution but also affects the survival of S.oneidensis. In general, the optimal condition in this project was defined as a low current intensity (0.18A) with the presence of chloride and no pH control, which results in more than 99.9% of the viable bacteria present being removed over 48-hour treatment period. Further investigations should focus on the impact of a wider range of pH values as well as testing actual industrial wastewater. The mechanism of the latter treatment is challenging in that it may contain not only microorganisms, but also organic and inorganic pollutants. |
| Supervisor | Prof. Jonathan Lloyd and Dr. Richard Kimber |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/qin_siyan.pdf |
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