PROGRAMME

This work aims at developing a contactor type Catalytic Membrane Reactor (CMR) for its application in the continuous removal of micropollutants by Catalytic Wet Peroxide Oxidation (CWPO). For such goal, a porous alumina membrane tube was homogeneously decorated with magnetite nanoparticles following an optimized method (ion-adsorption, microwave drying, calcination and reduction). In this interfacial system, the water effluent and the H2O2 solution are separated by the catalytic porous membrane, where a controlled reaction zone is formed. The Fe/CMR (0.5% wt.) developed was applied for the treatment of a representative micropollutants mixture (sulfamethoxazole (SMX), metronidazole (MNZ) and carbamazepine (CBZ)) under ambient conditions and slightly acidic pH (pH0 = 5). The initial concentration of each compound was established at 100 μg L-1. Despite the relatively low micropollutants conversion achieved (22.1%, 27.8% and 32.2% for MNZ, SMX and CBZ, respectively), the catalytic system showed a high stability in long-term application (100 h). Further research is currently on the way with the aim of increasing the iron load in the surface of the membrane in order to improve the catalytic performance of the system.