1 / 10

MY ROUTES CO-OP

MY ROUTES CO-OP. And working with PROTECT. Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats.

sylvestermaldonado
Download Presentation

MY ROUTES CO-OP

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. MY ROUTES CO-OP And working with PROTECT

  2. Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats • PROTECT seeks to understand the relationship between environmental contamination in Puerto Rico and its contribution to preterm birth, the fate and transport of contamination in karstic aquifers, and develop green remediation strategies. • Project 5: developing novel, sustainable, solar-powered, green, electrochemical technologies for groundwater remediation in karst regions to treat chlorinated solvents. • In our lab: we our optimizing the electrochemical process so the treatment is repeatable, reliable, and reputable.

  3. TCE Treatment Technology • Difficulties in treating TCE in Puerto Rico • DNAPLS- Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids • immiscible and denser than water • Dispersion and sinkage below the water table making excavation difficult • Solution: in-situ continuous-flow-reactor that treats as it pumps and flows back into the groundwater table

  4. The Reactor • Influent - simulation of groundwater, NaSO4 and CaSO4 with DI water • Will eventually include Iron that can be used in the electro fenton reaction to • Anode - Titanium Mixed Metal Oxide • Oxidation 2 H2O(l) → O2(g) + 4 H+(aq) + 4e− • Replaces an external oxygen source or aeration • Cathode - Graphite Felt with hydrophobic coating • Reduction at cathode: 2 H+(aq) + 2e− → H2(g) • Hydrogen peroxide is constantly generated from the O2 gas at the anode and the hydrogen gas at the cathode

  5. The Reactor • The H2O2 and the Fe 2+ are catalyzed to form hydroxyl radicals (•OH), a strong oxidizing agent, that degrades TCE! Source: Efficient Degradation of TCE in Groundwater Using Pd and Electro-generated H2 and O2: A Shift in Pathway from Hydrodechlorination to Oxidation in the Presence of Ferrous Ions Songhu Yuan, Xuhui Mao, and Akram N. Alshawabkeh Environmental Science & Technology 201246 (6), 3398-3405 DOI: 10.1021/es204546u

  6. Optimizing the Reactor • Voltage/Current (usually at 90mA) • Flow rate (usually 3mL/min) • Cathode material • Graphite Felt • RVC foam • Cathode Coating • PDMS - silicone based • PTFE - teflon like • Anodized - used as an anode • Influent characterization • Adjusting pH

  7. Cathode Modification • Mass Transfer/Electrowetting- Oxygen (g) produced at the anode can’t pass through the cathode • WHY? • Possibly because of Electrowetting? Hydrophobic → Hydrophilic • ISSUES? • Less H2O2 is produced → less •OH → Less TCE degredation! • SOLUTIONS? • Hydrophobic coatings (PTFE and PDMS) • Variables • Amount of coating, how to distribute the coating, order of the coatings • MEASUREMENTS? • Contact angle measurement machine for hydrophobicity • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for understanding of mechanism

  8. Results

  9. SEM

  10. Future Work • Research Paper on the efficacy of PTFE + PDMS • Testing the Reactor in the field • Testing TCE degradation with the reactor • New work with professor Loretta Fernandez

More Related