Nanobubble Technology for Advanced Water Treatment

Water treatment technologies, such as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, have been widely applied for the removal of various recalcitrant chemical pollutants and biological contaminants. However, these processes are not always suitable to meet more challenging and emerging water quality standards, such as the forever compounds PFAS. As such, we need to develop treatment technology innovations that can resolve these challenges while also being cost-efficient and sustainable.

This project aims to develop and evaluate nanobubble-enhanced catalytic AOPs that provide a chemical-free and cost-effective sustainable approach to water treatment. The specific objectives and methodologies include:
1) To determine the optimal size, quantity, and gas type of nanobubbles and operating conditions for enhancing the efficiency of photocatalysis water treatment.
2) To assess the removal efficiency of a wide range of contaminants, including organic pollutants (including micropollutants) and microorganisms (disinfection).
3) To understand the physico-chemical mechanisms involved in the photocatalysis enhancement attributed to different properties of nanobubbles.
4) To validate the developed technology in scaled-up systems and assess its cost and environmental impacts.