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US-12617698-B2 - Electrocatalytic reactor and remediation of wastewater using same

US12617698B2US 12617698 B2US12617698 B2US 12617698B2US-12617698-B2

Abstract

A method of remediating wastewater is provided, the method comprising substantially submersing an electrocatalytic reactor in wastewater, the electrocatalytic reactor including an anode, which is mesh and defines a first bore, a filter layer, which is porous glass, carbon fiber or poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, the filter layer including fibers and interstitial spaces between the fibers, an iron-doped titanium dioxide film on the fibers, the film including a surface that is substantially iron oxide free, the filter layer housed within the first bore and defining a second bore, a cathode, which is housed within the second bore, is mesh and defines an inner bore, and a perforated air tube housed within the inner bore; and providing at least a voltage of at least about 3 volts to the electrocatalytic reactor, in the absence of a light source, thereby remediating wastewater.

Inventors

  • Rodney Herring

Assignees

  • Rodney Herring

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20210624
Priority Date
20200624

Claims (13)

  1. 1 . A method of remediating wastewater in the absence of a light source, the method comprising substantially submersing an electrocatalytic reactor in wastewater, the electrocatalytic reactor including an anode, which is mesh and defines a first bore, a filter layer which includes fibers and interstitial spaces between the fibers, wherein the fibers are fiberglass, carbon or poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, an iron-doped titanium dioxide film on the fibers, the film including a surface that is less than 0.5% iron oxide, the filter layer housed within the first bore and defining a second bore, a cathode, which is housed within the second bore, is mesh and defines an inner bore, and a perforated air tube housed within the inner bore; and providing at least a voltage of at least about 3 volts to the electrocatalytic reactor, thereby remediating wastewater.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the voltage is between about 3 volts and about 15 volts.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the voltage is about 5 volts.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising urging air through the perforated air tube.
  5. 5 . A system for remediating wastewater in the absence of a light source, the system comprising: a vessel; an electrocatalytic reactor housed in the vessel, the electrocatalytic reactor including an anode, which is mesh and defines a first bore, a filter layer, which includes fibers and interstitial spaces between the fibers, wherein the fibers are fiberglass, carbon or poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, an iron-doped titanium dioxide film on the fibers, the film including a surface that is less than 0.5% iron oxide, the filter layer housed within the first bore and defining a second bore, a cathode, which is housed within the second bore, is mesh and defines an inner bore, and a perforated air tube housed within the inner bore; an air pump in gaseous communication with the perforated air tube and an air supply; and a source of power in electrical communication with the air pump and the electrocatalytic reactor.
  6. 6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the vessel is lightproof.
  7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , further comprising a water pump which is housed in the vessel and is in electrical communication with the power source.
  8. 8 . The system of claim 7 , further comprising an impeller which is housed in the vessel and is in electrical communication with the power source.
  9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising a discontinuous layer of gold on the fibers.
  10. 10 . A method of remediating wastewater in the absence of a light source, the method comprising substantially submersing an electrocatalytic reactor in wastewater, the electrocatalytic reactor including an anode, which is mesh and defines a first bore, a filter layer which includes fibers and interstitial spaces between the fibers, wherein the fibers are fiberglass carbon or poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, an iron-doped titanium dioxide film on the fibers, a discontinuous layer of gold on the iron-doped titanium dioxide film, the film including a surface that is less than 0.5% iron oxide, the filter layer housed within the first bore and defining a second bore, a cathode, which is housed within the second bore, is mesh and defines an inner bore, and a perforated air tube housed within the inner bore; and providing at least a voltage of at least about 3 volts to the electrocatalytic reactor, thereby remediating wastewater.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the voltage is between about 3 volts and about 15 volts.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the voltage is about 5 volts.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising urging air through the perforated air tube.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present invention is filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371 as the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/CA2021/050874, filed Jun. 24, 2021, which designated the U.S. and claims the benefit of Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 3084778, filed on Jun. 24, 2020 and entitled ELECTROCATALYTIC REACTOR AND REMEDIATION OF WASTEWATER USING SAME, which are hereby incorporated in their entirety including all tables, figures, and claims. FIELD The present technology is directed to a method of remediating wastewater with an electrocatalytic reactor in the absence of light. More specifically, it is a method of electrocatalytically remediating wastewater in the dark with an electrocatalytic reactor which includes at least one low iron oxide, iron-doped titanium dioxide activated fiberglass filter. BACKGROUND Wastewater remediation generally requires a high-power input and very frequently relies on ultraviolet light. Wastewater treatment using TiO.sub.2 as a photocatalyst has attracted a great deal of attention because of its high activity, chemical stability, robustness against photo-corrosion, low toxicity, low pollution load, and availability at low cost. However, the shortcomings of conventional powder catalysts include low efficiency of light use, difficulty of stirring during reaction and separation after reaction (usually using ultra-filtration), and low-concentration contamination near TiO.sub.2 due to its low surface area. United States Patent Application 20090301859 discloses that a reactor produces a surface corona for emitting UV light and for the production of ozone by passing air or oxygen through the surface corona. The emitted UV light activates a photocatalyst coated on a surface facing a surface with embedded electrodes which generate the surface corona. The photocatalyst is a thin film of nanoparticle TiO.sub.2 with primary particle size of 0.02 to 0.2 .mu.m was deposited on a substrate by a flame aerosol method. The method combines ozonation and photocatalysis to provide effective and efficient oxidation of alcohols and hydrocarbons to value added products. The method can also be used for air and water cleaning. UV light does not penetrate a significant distance into liquid and does not pass through glass. Further, there is a high power requirement for UV lights. The current methods used to perform TiO.sub.2 photocatalysis also include the application of UV onto a TiO.sub.2 surface coating in the presence of the target waste stream. There are three possible serious drawbacks of UV/TiO.sub.2 photocatalysis technology that has resulted in the failure of the technology to become established as a successful industrial wastewater treatment technology. Firstly, the ability of the UV to effectively penetrate waste stream which could be turbid, secondly the limited effect of the TiO.sub.2 catalyst due to the relatively small surface reaction area used in current systems, and thirdly UV has harmful effects on microbes. These drawbacks of TiO.sub.2 result in low efficiency of photocatalytic activity in practical applications. http://www.mchnanosolutions.com/ discloses the use of titanium dioxide for cleaning surfaces and decontamination of liquids. Their system is reliant upon ultraviolet (UV) light, which is expensive and which does not penetrate glass. Other approaches focus on electrocatalysis. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20180319680 discloses an electrolytic assembly and a method for the bacterial disinfection of water or wastewater. Water circulating in cooling towers such as those that discharge heat from air conditioning; ships' ballast water; or wastewater with a dryness varying from 0.01 to 3%; can be treated. The assembly comprises one or more electrolytic units comprising at least one Dimensionally Stable Anode commonly known as DSA, or a Boron Doped Diamond anode, also named BDD anode. The electrolytic treatment at least partially kill the bacteria present in the water. It has been shown that the electrolytic treatment breaks the cell membrane of bacteria present in the water. The treatment is particularly adapted for eliminating Legionella and others microorganisms, such as E. coli. Between 6 V and 40 V is applied in the electrolytic assembly. This approach does not remediate wastewater as it does not break down organic waste. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20170247273 discloses a bio-electrochemical system (BES) and a method of in-situ production and removal of H.sub.2O.sub.2 using such a bio-electrochemical system (BES). Further, the invention relates to a method for in-situ control of H.sub.2O.sub.2 content in an aqueous system of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) involving in-situ generation of hydroxyl radical (OH) by using such a bio-electrochemical system (BES) and to a method for treatment of wastewater and water disinfection. The bio-electrochemical system (BES) according to the invention comprises: