In the past five years, UV-Peroxide and/or Ozone systems havebecome the treatment of preference for removal of toxic organics in wastewater because the contaminant species are chemically converted to benigncomponents. These systems, however, have been limited to treatingorganics in groundwaters where organic concentrations rarely exceed a fewtens of parts per million by weight. At higher organic concentrations,commercial systems have had very limited success. The full potential ofUV oxidation has not been achieved because of the limited understandingof the interaction of fluid mechanics, energy transfer and absorption,and reaction kinetics on the optimal design of photochemical reactors.Recent advances made by UV Technologies, Inc. scientists have allowedthem to extend the concentration range for treatment and suggest furtherimprovements which may be made. One such suggestion is the use of aphoto-catalyst in a novel, in situ arrangement in a photo-catalyticreactor. This project will explore the effectiveness of a catalystemployed in this arrangement.
