From Laboratory Studies to the Field Applications of Advanced Oxidation Processes: A Case Study of Technology Transfer from Switzerland to Burkina Faso on the Field of Photochemical Detoxification of Biorecalcitrant Chemical Pollutants in Water

Abstract

The Fenton and photo-Fenton detoxification of non-biodegradable chemical pollution in water was investigated under simulated UV light in the laboratory and under direct sunlight in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The laboratory experiments enable one to make a systematic diagnosis among three types of wastewaters, identifying a biorecalcitrant wastewater containing the Chloro-hydroxy-Pryridine (CHYPR). The application of the photo-Fenton process on effluent containing the CHYPR showed not to stimulate the generation of biodegradable by-products. Optimal conditions for detoxification of effluent containing the CHYPR were found at pH=2.8, [Fe2+]=5.2 mM, initial [H2O2]=768 mM, for an effluent concentrated at 2.2 mM of CHYPR. The application of the photochemical process on a field pilot solar photoreactor for the detoxification of water polluted with a pesticide made with Endosulfan showed very promising results, with potential biodegradable effluents obtained at the end of the photochemical treatment. Optimal conditions of the applied study were found at pH=3. [H2O2]=8 mM and [Fe2+]=0.18 mM for an initial concentration of 0.36 mM of Endosulfan.