Oxidation of contaminants in water

2008/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Kimika
• Ingurumena
• Unibertsitateak

The aim of a group of researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the UPV/EHU is to reduce emissions of pollutants from the industry to water. In fact, most organic waste is biodegradable, but plastics, dyes and detergents cannot degrade themselves, which prevents the use of water as a resource.

The Energy and Environment Chemical Engineering Group removes substances poured into water through the process called advanced oxidation, i.e., oxidize chemical compounds as if they 'burn' in water. Ozone (O3) _{and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are} used for this purpose. Their main advantage is that they are "clean" molecules that, unlike other substances such as chlorine, disappear after oxidative function. This chemical process reduces contaminants present in the water to their degradation by themselves or, at least, their treatment by conventional systems.