Application of two different strategies for the simultaneous disinfection and decontamination of urban wastewater using solar photo-Fenton and solar/H2O2 processes

Simultaneous removal of contaminants of emerging concern and bacteria inactivation in simulated urban wastewater treatment plant effluent (SUWWE) through solar Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) namely solar photo-Fenton (SPF) with Ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid (EDDS) (H2O2=50 mg/L, Fe(III)= 0.1 mM, EDDS=0.1 mM), and the photochemical process based on sunlight/H2O2(H2O2=50 mg/L). Furthermore, the application of a sequential treatment was investigated by firstly applying sunlight/H2O2 followed by SPF at same reagents concentration and at neutral pH in a Raceway Pond reactor. Process efficiency was evaluated in terms of (i) degradation of five contaminants of emerging concern (CECs, namely Caffeine, Carbamazepine, Diclofenac, Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim) at 100 μg/L each and (ii) bacteria inactivation (E. coli, S. enteritidis and E. faecalis), at 103 CFU/mL each. The results showed that SPF and sunlight/H2O2 as standalone processes are not effective enough for simultaneous CECs removal and bacteria inactivation while sequential combination of sunlight/H2O2 and SPF operated in RPR would be a suitable solution for simultaneous CECs removal and bacteria inactivation.