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Solar photocatalytic water disinfection of Escherichia coli , Enterococcus spp . and Clostridium Perfringens using different low‐cost devices
Author(s) -
GutiérrezAlfaro Sergio,
Acevedo Asunción,
Rodríguez Juan,
Carpio Edward A,
Manzano Manuel A
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.4795
Subject(s) - clostridium perfringens , enterococcus , water disinfection , microbiology and biotechnology , bottle , plastic bottle , escherichia coli , food science , chemistry , biology , materials science , environmental engineering , environmental science , bacteria , antibiotics , biochemistry , genetics , gene , composite material
BACKGROUND The purpose of this work was to evaluate the disinfection capacity of two handmade low‐cost devices based on solar photocatalytic disinfection ( SPC‐DIS ): a plastic bottle (2 L) with a cylinder inside coated with TiO 2 doped with zinc and a glass reactor (9 L) with an inner cylinder coated with pure TiO 2 . Disinfection experiments of wastewater‐derived Escherichia coli , Enterococcus spp . and Clostridium perfringens (10 4 –10 5 CFU per 100 mL ) were carried out under natural sunlight during winter. RESULTS Clostridium perfringens was the most resistant microorganism and E. coli the least in all cases. The SPC‐DIS bottle achieved 100% disinfection for E. coli , but only 98.97% for Enterococcus spp . and 96.28% for C. perfringens. The SPC‐DIS reactor achieved, under optimum operating conditions, 100% disinfection for E. coli , 100% for Enterococcus spp . and 99.44% for C. perfringens . Maximum sustainable flow rate (22 L min −1 ) and maximum illumination ratio (1:2) were the best operating conditions. Operating with recirculation (interrupted illumination) favored C. perfringens spore formation. Best kinetic models were biphasic for E. coli and log‐linear for Enterococcus spp. and C. perfringens . CONCLUSION The two new devices showed higher disinfection capacity than common PET bottles (increase in disinfection rates up to 1.5 and 4.6 times), proving to be promising alternatives to the traditional method SODIS . © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry