Fouling mitigation and wastewater decontamination in UV treatment systems

• Published in: Water and environment journal : WEJ Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 168 - 177
• Main Authors: Aslam, Tooba, Chatzisymeon, Efthalia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2025
• Subjects: advanced oxidation processes; Chemical oxygen demand; Decontamination; energy-dispersive X-ray analysis; environment; Fouling; fouling mitigation; Hydrogen peroxide; Iron; Irradiation; Oxygen requirement; Phosphorus; photocatalysis; Quartz; Spectroscopy; Ultraviolet radiation; wastewater; Wastewater treatment; water; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 1747-6585; 1747-6593
• DOI: 10.1111/wej.12964

This work applied the photo‐Fenton process to mitigate quartz fouling in ultraviolet‐A (UVA) wastewater treatment. The impacts of the pH, iron and phosphorus concentration in synthetic wastewater were explored. It was observed that the photo‐Fenton process (5 mg/L of Fe2+, 10 mg/L of H2O2) mitigated quartz fouling and achieved 33% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. It was also found that the presence of UVA irradiation and/or acidic conditions substantially decreased fouling formation. X‐ray diffraction as well as energy‐dispersive spectroscopy measurements showed that fouling consisted mainly of Fe, Ca, P, and Na. Increasing P concentration in wastewater from 5 to 40 mg/L enhanced fouling formation as well as COD removal from 35% to 51%, respectively. This work provides insight, for the first time, into the role of Fenton reaction in mitigating quartz fouling, one of the technical challenges in upscaling photocatalytic treatment.