Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean
An economical supply of hygienic potable water is one of the most pressing public health issues facing developing countries in the Caribbean region today. This project investigates the performance of a novel solar photochemical reactor for disinfecting river water. The prototype photochemical reacto...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/487890 |
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| author | K. Tota-Maharaj D. E. Meeroff |
| author_facet | K. Tota-Maharaj D. E. Meeroff |
| author_sort | K. Tota-Maharaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An economical supply of hygienic potable water is one of the most pressing public health issues facing developing countries in the Caribbean region today. This project investigates the performance of a novel solar photochemical reactor for disinfecting river water. The prototype photochemical reactor was designed, constructed, and tested for the microbiological degradation of faecal coliform present in River Water. The experiments evaluated the efficacy of two photosensitive dyes (malachite green and methylene blue) as agents for detoxification with concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 mg/L. The photochemical reactor operated in a single-pass mode and compared the disinfection rates with direct photolysis. The photosensitizers showed a high efficacy rate using natural sunlight with microbial reduction ranging from 97 to 99% for concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/L of dye. The sensitizers were found to be photobleaching and were very effective at lower concentrations (<2.0 mg/L). Direct photolysis inactivation rate constants were 0.034 and 0.046 min−1, whilst degradation rates using methylene blue ranged from 0.057 to 0.088 min−1 and for malachite green from 0.057 to 0.086 min−1, respectively. One-way ANOVA was tested between the inflow and outflow pH, as well as the degradation rates constants for both photosensitisers with P>0.01. Post-solar disinfection included the use of a coconut fiber filter which polished the water removing residual dye concentrations and bacterial contaminants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-464f79d885a842dbb1e8b23b5acd3671 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1110-662X 1687-529X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| spelling | doaj-art-464f79d885a842dbb1e8b23b5acd36712025-02-03T05:44:02ZengWileyInternational Journal of Photoenergy1110-662X1687-529X2013-01-01201310.1155/2013/487890487890Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the CaribbeanK. Tota-Maharaj0D. E. Meeroff1Hydrosystems Engineering Research Group, Department of Utilities Engineering, The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Point Lisas Campus, Esperanza Road, Brechin Castle, Trinidad and TobagoCollege of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, EE308, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USAAn economical supply of hygienic potable water is one of the most pressing public health issues facing developing countries in the Caribbean region today. This project investigates the performance of a novel solar photochemical reactor for disinfecting river water. The prototype photochemical reactor was designed, constructed, and tested for the microbiological degradation of faecal coliform present in River Water. The experiments evaluated the efficacy of two photosensitive dyes (malachite green and methylene blue) as agents for detoxification with concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 mg/L. The photochemical reactor operated in a single-pass mode and compared the disinfection rates with direct photolysis. The photosensitizers showed a high efficacy rate using natural sunlight with microbial reduction ranging from 97 to 99% for concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/L of dye. The sensitizers were found to be photobleaching and were very effective at lower concentrations (<2.0 mg/L). Direct photolysis inactivation rate constants were 0.034 and 0.046 min−1, whilst degradation rates using methylene blue ranged from 0.057 to 0.088 min−1 and for malachite green from 0.057 to 0.086 min−1, respectively. One-way ANOVA was tested between the inflow and outflow pH, as well as the degradation rates constants for both photosensitisers with P>0.01. Post-solar disinfection included the use of a coconut fiber filter which polished the water removing residual dye concentrations and bacterial contaminants.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/487890 |
| spellingShingle | K. Tota-Maharaj D. E. Meeroff Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean International Journal of Photoenergy |
| title | Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean |
| title_full | Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean |
| title_short | Evaluation of Solar Photosensitised River Water Treatment in the Caribbean |
| title_sort | evaluation of solar photosensitised river water treatment in the caribbean |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/487890 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ktotamaharaj evaluationofsolarphotosensitisedriverwatertreatmentinthecaribbean AT demeeroff evaluationofsolarphotosensitisedriverwatertreatmentinthecaribbean |