title: Removal of several pesticides in a falling water film DBD reactor with activated carbon textile: Energy efficiency.
abstract: Bio-recalcitrant micropollutants are often insufficiently removed by modern wastewater treatment plants to meet the future demands worldwide. Therefore, several advanced oxidation techniques, including cold plasma technology, are being investigated as effective complementary water treatment methods. In order to permit industrial implementation, energy demand of these techniques needs to be minimized. To this end, we have developed an electrical discharge reactor where water treatment by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is combined with adsorption on activated carbon textile and additional ozonation. The reactor consists of a DBD plasma chamber, including the adsorptive textile, and an ozonation chamber, where the DBD generated plasma gas is bubbled. In the present paper, this reactor is further characterized and optimized in terms of its energy efficiency for removal of the five pesticides α-HCH, pentachlorobenzene, alachlor, diuron and isoproturon, with initial concentrations ranging between 22 and 430 μg/L. Energy efficiency of the reactor is found to increase significantly when initial micropollutant concentration is decreased, when duty cycle is decreased and when oxygen is used as feed gas as compared to air and argon. Overall reactor performance is improved as well by making it work in single-pass operation, where water is flowing through the system only once. The results are explained with insights found in literature and practical implications are discussed. For the used operational conditions and settings, α-HCH is the most persistent pesticide in the reactor, with a minimal achieved electrical energy per order of 8 kWh/m3, while a most efficient removal of 3 kWh/m3or lower was reached for the four other pesticides.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: patrick.vanraes@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vanraes
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Department of Process Engineering, Badji Mokhtar-Annaba, University, 23000 Annaba, Algeria; University of Souk Ahras, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Process Engineering, 41000 Souk Ahras, Algeria.
authors.forename: Houria
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghodbane
authors.affiliation: LIWET, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dries
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Davister
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; LIWET, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wardenier
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nikiforov
authors.affiliation: LIWET, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yannick P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Verheust
authors.affiliation: LIWET, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stijn W H
authors.initials: SWH
authors.lastname: Van Hulle
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Department of Process Engineering, Badji Mokhtar-Annaba, University, 23000 Annaba, Algeria.
authors.forename: Oualid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hamdaoui
authors.affiliation: Research Group Molecular Odor Chemistry, Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S), KU Leuven, Technology Campus, Gebroeders De Smetstraat 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vandamme
authors.affiliation: Research Group Molecular Odor Chemistry, Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S), KU Leuven, Technology Campus, Gebroeders De Smetstraat 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Durme
authors.affiliation: Separation Science Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S4-bis, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Surmont
authors.affiliation: Separation Science Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S4-bis, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lynen
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leys
mesh_terms: D010575:Pesticides; D013784:Textiles; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides; D014867:Water
keywords: Energy yield; Nitrate; Nitrite; Peroxone; Pesticides; Plasma treatment