Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Hybrid filtration/AOP membrane process for point of use PFAS removal from drinking water

EPA Grant Number: SU840403
Title: Hybrid filtration/AOP membrane process for point of use PFAS removal from drinking water
Investigators: Fidalgo, Maria , Lin, Chung-Ho , Green, Jake , Krumm, Alec , Hsu, Shu-Yu
Institution: University of Missouri - Columbia
EPA Project Officer: Harper, Jacquelyn
Phase: I
Project Period: July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023
Project Amount: $25,000
RFA: 18th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2021) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Objective:

The long term objective of this research is to develop a modular, stand alone, lost cost treatment unit, that can be built with broadly available materials and does not require additional supplies. The system consists on an iron oxide coated alumina tubular ceramic filter in a continuous filtration set up with recirculation. The filter, an ultrafiltration membrane, separates contaminant by size, adsorbs smalls molecules on the ceramic surface and catalyzes the chemical oxidation of organic contaminants through Fenton-type reactions. The membrane is fabricated in our laboratory through a simple process using low cost, widely available supplies; the system operates at low pressure with light-emitting diodes (LED) as the UV light source, resulting in minimal energy demands.

The general objective of the project is to build and test a prototype for a hybrid filtration/reaction membrane system that is capable of removing PFOA from drinking water that could be applied in large water treatment plants but also in small/point of use or mobile applications. The core of the system is a reactive porous ceramic membrane, fabricated by depositing an iron oxide nanoparticles on a macroporous ceramic tube. The specific research tasks proposed were: to fabricate and characterize the membrane, to develop analytical method to quantify PFOA in the degradation experiments, and to evaluate the efficiency of Fenton reactions catalyzed by iron oxide for the degradation of PFOA in water. 

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

Iron oxide particles were synthesized and used to coat ceramic supports and obtain self-standing ceramic samples. The characterization showed the final material was hematite with a mesoporous structure. PFOA exhibited favorable adsorption to the iron oxides for neutral pH. The degradation experiments (catalyst + H₂O₂ + UV light) showed a discernable, though modest, reduction in the PFOA concentration levels, under the conditions tested.

 

Conclusions:

The results from Phase I indicate that it is possible to degrade PFOA that contaminates drinking water sources using iron oxide materials and hydrogen peroxide, a common compound used routinely in households for cleaning, disinfection and cosmetic purposes, under UV light (365nm, black light). The conditions are mild enough that do not pose significant risk to the operator. The combined effect of the catalyst, hydrogen peroxide, and the surface-contaminant interaction created conditions favorable for the reaction. However, the degradation observed was not to the extent desirable for the protection of human health. We hypothesize that a modification of the iron oxide material to enhance the adsorption and the activity of the catalyst is required to achieve the above objective.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

 iron oxides, metal oxides, adsorption, Fenton reactions.

P3 Phase II:

Hybrid Filtration/Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) Membrane Process for Point of Use PFAS Removal from Drinking Water