Photocatalytic removal of microbiological consortium and organic matter in greywater

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate TiO2 photocatalytic degradation of synthetically-prepared greywater samples with differing compositional contents of organic matter (OM), anion concentration, and microbiological consortium. Treatment efficiency was followed through removal of organic matter content in terms of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), specific spectroscopic parameters, and bacterial inactivation. Photocatalytic degradation kinetics were expressed by pseudo first-order kinetic modeling. The best DOC removal rates were attained for greywater samples containing OM with lower molecular size fractions. In addition, either enhancing or reducing the effect of common anions as radical scavengers were observed depending on the composition and concentration of variables in the greywater matrix. Moreover, possibility of a photocatalytic disinfection process was found to be of a bacteria type specific in OM-loaded synthetic greywater samples. Photocatalytic destruction of fecal streptococci required longer irradiation periods under all conditions. Bacterial removal rates were found to be in the order of total coliform > fecal coliform > fecal streptococci, for low organic load greywater, and fecal coliform > total coliform > fecal streptococci, for high organic load greywater.