Peracetic acid (PAA) is emerging as an alternative wastewater disinfectant due to its lower aquatic toxicity compared to the conventional disinfectant chlorine. The combination of PAA and ultraviolet (UV) light has the potential to provide additional benefits of advanced oxidation to remove pharmaceutical compounds that persist after biological wastewater treatment. In this study, a 4-week plot testing was conducted to evaluate the disinfection and oxidation performance of PAA and PAA/UV. Disinfection performance was assessed based on the inactivation of three fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) (fecal coliforms, E. coli and Enterococcus spp.) and a virus (somatic coliphage) under a wide range of Ct values (4.4–135 mg min L-1). Fecal coliforms and E. coli were the most susceptible to PAA disinfection, followed by Enterococcus spp., and then somatic coliphage. Deviation from Chick-Watson disinfection kinetics was observed for fecal coliforms and E. coli, but not for Enterococcus spp. or somatic coliphage. Low pressure UV irradiation (30 mJ/cm2) after PAA exposure increased the log reduction of somatic coliphage, but had no effect on FIB. Samples from the pilot reactor (PAA contact time 1.3 min) were also irradiated by low pressure UV light in a collimated beam reactor, and the change in concentrations of 21 pharmaceutical compounds were used to assess the advanced oxidation performance. The results showed that moderate PAA doses (~4 mg/L) and relatively high UV fluences (e.g., 1600 mJ/cm2) were needed to achieve significant and consistent removal of pharmaceutical compounds.

Pilot testing of peracetic acid – Ultraviolet disinfection and advanced oxidation for wastewater treatment

2019 Spring National Meeting

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