METAL-CATALYZED REDUCTION AS A STRATEGY FOR SELECTIVE TREATMENT OF DRINKING WATER- AND WASTEWATER-DERIVED MICROPOLLUTANTS

摘要

Advances in analytical chemistry have led to an increased awareness within the water supply industry that a number of trace organic contaminants are present in treated drinking water and wastewater as a result of either incomplete treatment (e.g., pesticides, pharmaceuticals) or as by-products of treatment processes themselves (e.g., DBP formation). Concerns about these contaminants are also increasing because water scarcity is forcing many utilities to consider supplementing source water supplies with treated wastewater. A number of advanced treatment options for micropollutants are currently being examined by researchers, but the efficiency of many of these processes suffers from poor compound selectivity. Because of their inherent selectivity, reductive processes can be used to efficiently treat contaminants that contain highly oxidized functional groups within their structure (e.g., halogenated carbon atoms). This presentation provides an overview of the work we have initiated using hydrogen-activated metal catalysts to reductively treat micropollutants of concern to the water supply industry, including disinfection by-products and select pharmaceutical agents (Table 1). Recent findings from laboratory experiments will be presented as well as the advantages, disadvantages and challenges associated with using catalytic reductive technologies for water and wastewater treatment.