SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SEMINAR Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 15:00 Wolfson Building of Mechanical Engineering, Room 206

PhD student of Dr. Hadas Mamane & Dr. Dror Avisar School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University

New and improved drugs are being developed and consumed each year for human and animal's therapy. These compounds are often excreted unmodified into the wastewaters, where they are considered emerging micro-pollutants. The increase in drug consumption worldwide is unfortunately not accompanied by substantial parallel development in wastewater treatment technologies, aimed at preventing these substances from reaching the environment. As a consequence, these contaminants are continuously discharged to aquatic environments through wastewater reuse (e.g. irrigation). This results in contamination of surface and groundwater (main source for drinking water).

The present study examines advanced technologies, based on ozone (O3) and UV-vis light, for the removal of pharmaceutical residues from water and wastewater. Ozone-based technologies include the application of ozone alone to directly oxidize a target pollutant and the combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide (O3/H2O2) to generate the highly reactive hydroxyl radical (•OH). UV-vis light-based technologies include direct photo-degradation of a pollutant with UVC light (< 280 nm) and the indirect oxidation using solar light and a semiconductor catalyst (photocatalysis), through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

The research examined the efficiency of the above technologies to remove different types of pharmaceuticals, under different operational parameters using synthetic and natural water and wastewater. New techniques and novel materials were developed to improve the treatments' efficiency, such as the use of a bismuth-based photocatalyst.

The applicability of the technologies was demonstrated on wastewater effluents from a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility (TEVA's plant). These facilities are considered a major point source for pharmaceutical pollution in the environment; therefore, treating these wastewaters in-situ may significantly decrease the environmental load of these emerging contaminants.

Ozone and UV-vis light based advanced technologies for the removal of pharmaceuticals from water and wastewater

Yaal Lester