Solar detoxification of wastewater in a novel aerated cascade photoreactor (ACP)

A newly developed aerated cascade photoreactor (ACP), based on a non-concentrating suspension photoreactor, combines the advantages of a cascade with the increased mass-transfer and the use of oxygen from air as an oxidizing agent in a bubble column. Systematic studies of the limiting hydrodynamic conditions in the ACP and the solid/liquid-separation of the photocatalyst from the treated wastewater have shown that the ACP is technically and commercially attractive. The ACP outperforms the thin-film fixed-bed reactor (TFFBR) with respect to a 3-13 times higher degradation efficiency for the model compound dichloroacetic acid (DCA). The treatment of two biologically pretreated real wastewaters, one from a textile factory and one from car-washing, have been successfully carried out under artificial light and sunlight.