Emerging Compounds Removal from Wastewater: Natural and Solar Based Treatments

106 Pages·2012·2.107 MB·English

by  Ceyda Senem Uyguner-Demirel, Miray Bekbolet (auth.), Giusy Lofrano (eds.)

SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science
Green Chemistry for Sustainability
Series Editor
Sanjay K. Sharma
For further volumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/10045
Giusy Lofrano
Editor
Emerging Compounds
Removal from Wastewater
Natural and Solar Based Treatments
123
Giusy Lofrano
Department of CivilEngineering
Universityof Salerno
Via PonteDon Melillo1
Fisciano 84084Salerno
Italy
ISSN 2191-5407 e-ISSN2191-5415
ISBN 978-94-007-3915-4 e-ISBN978-94-007-3916-1
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-3916-1
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergNewYorkLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2012933970
(cid:2)TheAuthor(s)2012
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Foreword
At a time when the world’s population has reached seven billion people,
sustainable design and environmental protection are critical to ensure that water
resourceswillbeavailableforfuturegenerations.Itiswellrecognizedthatthereis
anenergy/waternexus.Ittakeswatertogenerateenergyandenergytotreatwater.
There is great opportunity to make wastewater treatment plants net energy users
and even producers since there is 2–4 times the amount of energy embedded in
wastewaterthanittakestotreatit.Aswedesignwastewatertreatmentplants,itis
important to consider the kinds of treatment that will allow us to recover energy.
It is also important to recover nutrients for use as fertilizers and to reclaim water
for irrigation, since there is also a water/food nexus. Technology exists which
allowswastewatertobetreatedtoalevelwhichremovesmicro-contaminantssuch
as endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals which not only impacts receiving
watersandtheiruses,butalsolimitstheabilityfordirectandindirectwaterreuse
toensureadequatesupplyofwater.Theeditor,myfriendandcolleagueDr.Giusy
Lofrano,intheframeworkofthisbooknotonlydiscussestheproblemsandissues
associated with wastewater treatment but also offers technologically sound
solutions. This book is an asset to all water professionals so they can become
knowledgeable in the issues and develop sustainable design for wastewater
treatment plants.
Jeanette A. Brown
v
Preface
Engineeringandsustainabledevelopmentareintrinsicallylinked.Manyaspectsof
sustainable development depend directly on appropriate and timely actions made
byengineers.Greenengineeringfocusesonhowtoachievesustainabilitythrough
science and technology for it is one of its fundamental principle to consider the
environment when designing products and technologies.
Today, the term ‘green’ is used widely (and often inappropriately) in connec-
tion with many types of technologies. Generally, a technology is defined ‘green’
because it requires less non-renewable energy sources than others or reduces the
useofhazardouschemicals.However,atruly‘‘green’’technologyshouldconsider
the recycling potential, the nutrient and the energy recovery as well as ensure the
preservation of ecosystems. It can be argued that green engineering is not simply
good chemical engineering or industrial ecology, which alone is not enough to
achievesustainability.Indeed,evensystemswithefficientmaterialandenergyuse
can overwhelm the recovery capacity of a region or lead to other socially unac-
ceptable outcomes.
As the quantity and quality of the resources and the resilience of the environ-
ment changes over time, the most sustainable technological solutions will change
accordingly.
Green engineering was originally defined by the U.S. Congress Office of
Technology Assessment as ‘‘green design involving two general goals: waste
prevention and better material management’’. More recently, green engineering
wasmorebroadlydefinedbytheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)as
‘‘thedesign,commercialization,anduseofprocessesandproductsthatarefeasible
andeconomicalwhileminimizing:generationofpollutionatthesourceandriskto
bothhumanhealthandtotheenvironment’’.However,sustainabilityisnotonlyan
issue for green engineering.
Thedesign,thedevelopment,andtheimplementationofchemicalproductsare
also looking at reducing or even eliminating the use and generation of substances
thatmaybehazardoustobothhumanhealthandtheenvironment,andthereforeto
green chemistry.
vii
viii Preface
According to U.S. EPA, ‘‘green chemistry is required to promote innovative
chemical technologies aimed at reducing or eliminating the use or generation of
hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and use of chemical products.’’
Bothgreenengineeringandgreenchemistryarebasedontwelveprinciplesandthe
terms are often used interchangeably. However, although some principles may be
commontobothdisciplines,itisclearthattherearesignificantdifferencesintheir
philosophy. Disciplines such as toxicology and thermodynamics play important
roles in green chemistry despite they are not specifically included within the
principles. Chapter 1 introduces green chemistry and its principles in relation to
the technologies for the removal of emerging compounds from water and
wastewater.
How to evaluate and to achieve sustainability in wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs)? Their crucial role in protecting human and environmental health is
widely recognized. However, their impacts have simply been shifted to another
part of the overall life cycle when wastewater treatment is carried out by using
hazardous or non-renewable materials. Therefore, in evaluating the sustainability
of WWTPs, engineers should consider the entire life cycle, including those of
materials and of energy inputs. Chapter 2 reviews the removal of emerging con-
taminantsandindustrialpollutantsingeneralfromwaterandwastewaterbyusing
naturalmaterialsoragriculturalwasteasadsorbents.Theproblemassociatedwith
current treatment technologies lies in their lack of sustainability. If we look at
centralized systems, for instance, it is clear that they are not always the best
solution. The reasons are many:
• theyflushcontaminantsoutofresidentialareasbyusinglargeamountsofwater;
• they often combine domestic wastewater with rainwater, causing the discharge
of large volumes of polluted wastewater;
• they can contribute to spread a contained domestic health problem to an entire
settlement or even to a region.
Furthermore, many treatment systems are functioning properly but are never-
theless unsustainable as they do not take into account the culture, the land, the
climate, and the energy consumption of the country.
Chapter3focusesonthefateoforganicchemicalsinconstructedwetlandsand
aims at improving their assessment in full-scale studies. The removal of some
categories of trace contaminant of worldwide relevance, classified as Endocrine
Disruptor Compounds (EDCs) and Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
(PPCPs), has been reviewed together with the mechanisms associated to their
removal.
When a wastewater treatment technology has a high removal efficiency for
contaminants, but consumes high amount of energy, this contributes to atmo-
sphericcarbondioxideemissions.Thus,thereisnonetsustainabilityadvantagein
thetreatmenttechnology.InChap.4,theauthorshighlightsomeofthescienceand
technology being developed to improve the solar photocatalytic decontamination
of water-containing pesticides. The potential of oxidative photochemical methods
Preface ix
usingsunlightaspromisingalternativestonon-efficientconventionaltreatmentsis
discussed in Chap. 5.
In an era when there is growing concern for the impact that our current envi-
ronmentalstrategieshasatbothlocalandgloballevel,itiscrucialtodevelopmore
environmentallyfriendlywastewatertreatmenttechnologies.Thehopeisforthese
technologiestoreachtheenvironmental,economic,andsocietalsustainabilitythat
will contribute to reduce sanitation problems, diseased, and poverty.
Salerno, Italy, November 2011 Giusy Lofrano
Acknowledgments
This book was created within the series ‘‘Springer Briefs in Green Chemistry for
Sustainability’’ edited by Professor Sanjay Sharma. To him, my warmest thanks.
My most sincere gratitude goes to all the authors who devoted their precious
timetocontributetothisvolumeandtoSoniaOjo,IlariaTassistro,andtheirteam
at Springer for their valuable support that made this book possible. It has been a
pleasure working with all of you.
My thanks to Jeanette Brown, who honored me by signing the Foreword, will
never be enough.
I wish to express my most sincere gratitude to Süreyya Meric for all the
competenceshowedovertheyearsandforthescientistsandfriendswhogaveme
the chance to meet.
IambeholdentoGiovanniDeFeowhosebrilliance,wittinessandvisionofthe
environment informed and inspired me deeply. A special thanks to Ivana Marino
whosupportedmecontinuouslyandunconditionallyandtoGiovanniPaganowho
helped me with his encouraging comments.
Lastbutnotleast,Iamgratefultomyfamily.Yourpatienceandlovepowermy
life.
Salerno, Italy, October 2011 Giusy Lofrano
xi
Contents
1 Green Chemistry for Green Treatment Technologies . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Green Chemistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Green Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Removal of Emerging Contaminants from Water
and Wastewater by Adsorption Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2 Adsorption Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.1 Mechanisms and Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.2 Adsorption Isotherms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.3 Factors Affecting Adsorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3 Removal of Emerging Compounds by Adsorption. . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3.1 Commercial Adsorbents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3.2 Low Cost Adsorbents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.4 Adsorption as Green Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.5 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3 Removal of Trace Pollutants from Wastewater
in Constructed Wetlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2 Constructed Wetlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2.1 Technological Aspects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2.2 Drawbacks and Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.3 Plants Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.4 Worldwide Diffusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
xiii