Date of Award

Spring 2011

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Civil Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

James P Malley

Abstract

As wastewater and water reuse practices evolve to meet changing effluent requirements, the capabilities of various technologies to achieve treatment objectives merit investigation. This work examines the influence of suspended solids on the efficiency of the UV-H2O2 advanced oxidation process to affect oxidation of organic contaminants in biologically wastewater effluents. Effluent samples from two conventional activated sludge plants were used to produce microfiltrates with 0.2 mum nylon filters. Para-chlorobenzoic acid (pCBA) was used as a probe compound to indirectly quantify the steady state OH concentration in samples spiked with H2O2 and irradiated using a bench-scale UV collimated beam apparatus. An effluent sample from a membrane bioreactor was also evaluated. No significant difference in steady state OH concentration was observed between unfiltered and microfiltered samples, suggesting that suspended solids may not significantly contribute to hydroxyl radical scavenging in such effluents. Implications to the role of filtration are discussed.

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