This is a water innovation pitch during the session "EIP Water's got talent" at the 1st EIP Water Conference on 21 November 2013. There are three applications for Integrated Photocatalytic Wastewater Treatment Systems : 1. Arsenic removal 2. Selenium removal from coal mining wastewaters 3. Pesticide degradation from diverse water bodies

1. EIP Water has got talent:
Candidates pitch innovation to panel of judges
Integrated Photocatalytic
Wastewater Treatment Systems
Daniel Fernández Hevia
21 November 2013
EU Parliament, Brussels

2. Integrated Photocatalytic
Wastewater Treatment Systems

3. ARSENIC
 Bangladesh, 155M population. According
to WHO 30M will suffer arsenic poisoning.
Figures are growing…
 India. Only in West Bengal, almost 75M
people are exposed to >10g/L. Those
exposed to > 50 10g/L are estimated 30M
 Southeat Asia. 110M are consuming
water with [As]> 10 times the WHO limits
 More than 60 countries in the world have
severe arsenic problems, mostly in Africa,
Asia, and South America
 Arsenic poisoning is terrible and deadly

4. TiO2-based remediation of arsenic water
contamination
TiO2-as a
photocatalyst
Cost-efficient
immobilization
TiO2-as an
adsorbent
Incorporation
into ceramic
filters
Cost-efficient
and large-scale
photoreactors
combining
As(III)
photooxidation
and As(V)
adsorption.
Cost-efficient and large-scale photoreactors

5. LARGE SCALE PHOTOREACTORS: HOW?
Photocatalysis value chain
Photocatalyst
Nanoparticles




Coatings
Chemical composition
Processing route
Coating methodology
Crystal face orientation
 In the powder
 In the coating
 Enhanced performance

 Doping  visible range
 Nanostructuring  highly
active facets
 Phase Mixing: enhancing eh
separation
Scale-up  mass production
Photoreactor system
 Photoreactor design
Coated photocatalyst
Reactor geometry
UV LED Irradiation
Light attenuation
Photon efficiency.
 Adding value:
 Sensing (input and
output)
 Automation &
control
 Scale-up to industrial
mass production
Application
 By substance
 Emerging
contaminants
 DBPs
 Arsenic,
selenium
 By industry




Key driver of value creation
Agriculture
Coal mining
Urban WWTPs
…

6. THE PHOTOREACTOR SYSTEM
 Photoreactor design
Coated photocatalyst
UV LED Irradiation
 Reactor geometry
Light attenuation
Photon efficiency
 Hydraulics/fluid dynamics
 Adding value:
Sensing (input and output)
Automation & control
 Scale-up to industrial mass production

7. THE APPLICATIONS
Arsenic
Selenium
Where
everything
started…
Along with arsenic
 Major coal mining US
company contacted.
 Same concept applies
 Similar solutions
 Photooxidation
[As(III)As(V)] and
photoreduction
[Se(VI)Se(IV)Se(0)]
simultaneously in action!
Pesticides
Organic counterpoint
 Presence detected
in Europe in surface
water, groundwaters,
WWTPs, and driking
water
 Increasing concern
and regulation.
Applications
Centralized (WWTPs - large scale) or Decentralized
(POE/POU or source point) treatments

8. CONCLUSIONS

Large scale photoreactors:
 UV-LED technology
 immobilized photocatalyst
 automation and control

Three applications:
 Arsenic removal
 Selenium removal from coal mining
wastewaters
 Pesticide degradation from diverse water
bodies

9. THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Dr. Daniel Fernández Hevia
dfernandez@proyinves.ulpgc.es
daniel.fernandez@watergy.es