New approach to solar photo-Fenton operation. Raceway ponds as tertiary treatment technology

The photo-Fenton process has proven its efficiency in the removal of micropollutants. However, the high costs usually associated with it prevent a spread of this technology. An important factor affecting costs is the kind of photoreactor used, usually tubular with a reflecting surface. Tubular reactors like compound parabolic collectors, CPCs, involve high capital costs. In comparison, the application of less costly reactors such as the extensive raceway ponds (RPRs) would help to spread the use of the photo-Fenton process as tertiary treatment at commercial scale. As far as the authors know, RPRs have never been used in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) applications. This work is aimed at studying the applicability of RPRs to remove micropollutants with solar photo-Fenton. For this purpose, a pesticide mixture of commercial acetamiprid (ACTM) and thiabendazole (TBZ) (100 mu g/L each) was used in simulated secondary effluent. Iron concentration (1, 5.5 and 10 mg/L) and liquid depth (5, 10 and 15 cm) were studied as process variables. TBZ was removed at the beginning of the treatment (less than 5 min), although ACTM removal times were longer (20-40 mm for the highest iron concentrations). High treatment capacity per surface area was obtained (48 mg/h m(2) with 5.5 mg Fe/L and 15 cm liquid depth), proving the feasibility of using RPRs for micropollutant removal. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.