An ultraviolet light coupled with titanium dioxide (UV/TiO2) advanced oxidation pilot
system was evaluated at the Greenbrook Water Treatment Plant. The objective of the pilot
study was to evaluate the effect of varying operating parameters on the performance of the
UV/TiO2 system for the concurrent degradation of 1,4-dioxane and removal of iron and
manganese through adsorption onto the TiO2 surface. It was hypothesized that as iron and
manganese adsorb onto the TiO2 surface, the degradation of 1,4-dioxane would be impaired.
This pilot study showed promising results that suggest UV/TiO2 advanced oxidation is
capable of concurrent treatment of multiple contaminants. Effective iron removal was
achieved under all tested conditions, while the effective removal of manganese and
degradation of 1,4-dioxane was dependent on operating conditions. A lower flow rate (8
L/min) was required for both the removal of manganese under alkaline conditions (pH 8.6),
and the degradation of 1,4-dioxane under acidic conditions (pH 5.5) or in the presence of
peroxide (30 mg/L). Thus, the pilot UV/TiO2 system is able to concurrently remove iron with
either manganese or 1,4-dioxane, but the effective removal of manganese and degradation of
1,4-dioxane are competing processes. Results suggest that a higher UV dose (lower flow rate,
more UV lamps, or more powerful UV lamps) needs to be applied in order to effectively
remove all three contaminants. Includes 26 references, figures.