Projects / Programmes
Construction, evaluation and optimization of a solar pilot photocatalytic reactor for degradation of persistent organic pollutants in wastewaters and for disinfection of drinking waters
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.02.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Chemical engineering |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| P305 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Environmental chemistry |
drinking water treatment, persistant organic pollutants, disinfection, photocatalytic reactor, solar energy, TiO2 photocatalysis
Researchers (1)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
23451 |
PhD Urh Černigoj |
Chemistry |
Head |
2008 - 2010 |
174 |
Organisations (1)
| no. |
Code |
Research organisation |
City |
Registration number |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
1540 |
University of Nova Gorica |
Nova Gorica |
5920884000 |
14,063 |
Abstract
There is an increased need for treating the polluted water where conventional water treatment is not always successful to meet more end more demanding European standards regarding potable water. In order to cleanse water of the extra-stable organics, so-called the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been developed. TiO2 photocatalysis belongs to the group of AOPs and has been extensively studied over the last 20 years. TiO2 photocatalysis has some obvious advantages over the other photochemical AOPs (low cost and high chemical stability of TiO2, possibility of utilizing solar energy as a source of UV photons, no additional chemicals are needed...), but there are also drawbacks, which retard its transmission to the industrial-scale level. The most obvious disadvantages are: i) slow complete mineralization of organic matter; ii) problems with the separation of TiO2 slurries after the photocatalysis; iii) underdeveloped photocatalytic engineering; iv) no standardized measurements of photocatalytic activities of different materials. According to the presented problems, the goals of my postdoc project are: A) development, construction and evaluation of a pilot photocatalytic plant for treatment of persistent organic pollutants present in wastewater. The compound parabolic collectors will be used as reflectors of direct and diffused solar radiation and the collected photons will be directed into a glass tube with the catalyst (TiO2) inside (to overcome the disadvantage ii). The degradation efficiency will be monitored by different analytical techniques, such as HPLC, ionic chromatography and TOC instrument. Microbiological parameters will be monitored by measuring the number of different bacterias. B) Mechanism of photocatalytic ozonation will be studied and the attention will be paid to find out the correlation between different characteristics of TiO2 and the efficiency of photocatalytic ozonation. C) I intend to increase the efficiency of the photocatalytic treatment plant with the help of other AOPs, which could beneficially influence the efficiency of the cleaning. At the beginning I intend to use commercially available TiO2 immobilized on special paper (produced by Ahlstrom) as a catalyst. In addition I am going to use and evaluate also TiO2 coatings, which are prepared and characterized in our Laboratory for Environmental Research, University of Nova Gorica. The coatings will be composed of TiO2 powder, which will be fixed onto a substrate with the help of silicone and sicate binders. This proposal for a postdoc project is well in accordance with the third and the fourth priority research fields of this public call. The advantage of the introduced pilot wastewater treatment plant is its simplicity and possibility of utilizing the solar energy for its work. Therefore we decrease a consumption of non-renewable energy, which is nowadays one of the most important tasks of development and research activities all over the world. In the best case I will construct a system for cleaning underground drinking waters, polluted with pesticides, nondegradable by standard treatment processes. Such treatment plant could have even higher potential in small water supply systems, which nowadays still work without any treatment of water, although their water is often microbilogically polluted above the limits allowed.
Significance for science
Proposed postdoc project has a relevance for the development of science, particularly in the field of photocatalysis. The mechanistic process of photocatalytic action is still unclear in some details despite 30 years of research efforts in the field of photocatalysis. My experiments proved that there is reciprocal influence of surface area of a photocatalyst and the concentration of ozone on an efficiency of photocatalytic degradation of organic compound dissolved in water. It was also proven at the same time that there is no similar effect in combination of TiO2 catalyst with iron ions, what is also a new result in science. It was also shown that the modification of other material's characteristics (i.e. cristalinity) can lead to the differences in the efficiencies of photodegradation of organics in water. Scientifically it is also important that different types of organic molecules interact differently with the catalyst and ozone molecules in the process of photocatalytic ozonation. These findings can lead to a new research in mechanistic investigations of photocatalytic ozonation. However, the most important effect of my project is moving from scientific results to technological solutions. Fundamental understanding and knowledge of basics of particular process can lead to improvement of the material, which could become interesting for real applications due to their enhanced efficiency.
In the field of the develoment of new materials it was shown that it is possible to prepare highly active layers of titanium dioxide with adequate physical stability already at low temperature (below 200 oC), what was shown for the first time according to my overview of scientific literature. The tecnological solution is interesting and has to be also scientifically evaluated (the physico-chemical characteristics of prepared layers as well as searching for new possible applications of such material).
Significance for the country
These studies have importance for the development of Slovenia. Photocatalytic ozonation is becoming an interesting area for wine-making industry, where they have problems with a treatment of waste water generated after the processing of grapes. In this context, we started the industrial project (companies Škrlj d.o.o. and Alpineon d.o.o. as well as Agricultural institute of Slovenia), where a pilot modular photoreactor with a capacity exceeding 10 L, functioning on the principle of photocatalytic ozonation, will be developed. We have plan to build and evaluate a system in 2010 and then consider the possibility of its commercialization.
The company Cinkarna d.d. Celje is interested in acquiring rights to the technology of manufacturing sols intended for applications in photocatalytic self-cleaning surfaces. Celje Cinarna also calls for a deeper research connection between its development department and a group of researchers at the University of Nova Gorica (Laboratory for Environmental Research).
In collaboration with Martex d.o.o. we are developing self-cleaning ceramic tiles. Within this context, we are just in front of the large pilot experiment, where we are going to deposit TiO2 layers on their ceramic tiles directly in the existing production line.
Research activities within the proposed project lead to the results, which strengthen the reputation of Slovenian science in the world. Good research work at home also enabled us direct access to European knowledge through the photocatalytic programme COST 540, where I was an active collaborator. I participated on important international scientific conferences (Palermo (Italy) in October 2008 and Istanbul (Turkey) in September 2009), where I was the only Slovenian presenting the oral presentation on my scientific work.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2008,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2008,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
