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| Wastewater Treatment

Some industrial wastewater contains pollutants that conventional treatment plants cant eliminate. A new Siemens process uses electricity to decompose these substances (small images).

Making Pollutants Edible


Clothing and analgesic tablets have one thing in common: Their production creates wastewater that may contain large amounts of pollutants that are difficult to decompose. Existing treatment plants are ineffective against some of these pollutants. A new process from Siemens may change that.

e clean up wastewater with electricity, says Dr. Manfred Waidhas, who has developed an electrochemical wastewater treatment process at Siemens Corporate Technology in Erlangen. The process converts water molecules into hydroxyl radicals that act as cleaning agents in the process. Hydroxyls compounds of one oxygen and one hydrogen atom rank among the most aggressive of all cleaning agents, and can break down the fundamental carbon-containing structure of all organic substances. The resulting fragments of such pollutants can then be digested by bacteria in water treatment plants and thus rendered harmless, Waidhas explains. With the new electrical treatment process, wastewater is pumped through a reactor that is encapsulated in a steel shell and contains electrodes like those of a lead battery. The electrodes carry opposite electrical charges. The difference in potential creates hydroxyl radicals

at the positively charged electrode and liberates hydrogen gas at the negative electrode. To decompose the pollutant molecules as effectively as possible, they must adhere as tightly as possible to the oxide surface. The key is to find the most suitable electrode material for each type of wastewater, Waidhas explains. The efficiency of the process can be further enhanced by selecting suitable operating parameters. However, electrode materials and operating parameters arent the only factors that are relevant to an efficient process. The quality of the wastewater matters as well. The greater the concentration of pollutants in the water, the more effective the process. Thats because at higher concentrations more particles adhere to the electrode surface, increasing the decomposition quota per kilowatt-hour. As a result, Siemens process is best suited for the highly concentrated wastewater from

the textile, paper, and pharmaceutical industries. Competing wastewater treatment systems use gaseous ozone. Like Siemens electrochemical method, these systems use hydroxyl radicals to produce the cleansing effect. But our method for producing free radicals is more energy-efficient, Waidhas points out. Whats more, the electrochemical process saves space, as it does not require an oxygen tank for ozone production, and is especially simple to operate. All you need to run it is a wall outlet and a pump, he says. The new process is being tested in a pilot plant that processes about 200 liters per hour of wastewater containing pollutants that are highly resistant to decomposition. The results indicate that the process may be suitable for use on an industrial scale, Waidhas reports. However, he adds, a great deal of development will still be needed before the solution is ready for the market. Andrea Hoferichter

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2008

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