Ozonation of soluble organics in aqueous solutions using microbubbles

A. B. Walker, C. Tsouris, D. W. DePaoli, K. T. Klasson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

This work investigates ozonation of a mixture of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) dissolved in aqueous solutions having salt concentrations ranging from 0 to 2 M. The effect of microbubbles on the ozonation rate is examined. Microbubbles are formed either by an electrostatic spraying method or by a small-pore bubble diffuser. Although electrostatic spraying is effective for BTEX removal in low-conductivity solutions, results indicate it is not suitable for microbubble formation in high-ionic-strength solutions due to high electric current. In contrast, the bubble-diffuser method proved to be very effective in producing small bubbles in high-ionic-strength solutions. The production of small bubbles makes it possible to mitigate the mass transfer limitation, which has been shown to be the primary restriction in ozonation systems. When a bubble diffuser is employed, the removal rate of BTEX from simulated seawater is approximately twice that obtained with a simple capillary tube.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)77-87
Number of pages11
JournalOzone: Science and Engineering
Volume23
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

Funding

W e achowledge support for this research by the Ofice of Fossil Energy, Omct of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Enmgy, under contract DE- AC05-950R.22464 with Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp. We are also thankful to Dr. Marsha Savage for editing the manuscript .

Keywords

  • BTEX
  • Benzene
  • Bubble diffuser ozonation
  • Dissolved organics
  • Electrostatic spraying ozonation
  • Ethylbenzene
  • Ionic strength
  • Microbubble
  • Ozonation
  • Ozone
  • Toluene
  • Xylene

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