Sewage treatment using Aqueous Phase Reforming for reuse purpose

This work is an exploratory study about the application of Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) in the treatment of sanitary sewage, for reuse purposes. The removal of organic matter in terms of TOC, the elimination of micro pollutants (caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac and ibuprofen) and the production of hydrogen and alkanes were evaluated. Batch reactors were employed for the treatment of synthetic sewage using a Pt catalyst supported on a commercial carbon black. APR was found to be suitable to remove TOC and micro pollutants from sewage. Total removal was achieved for carbamazepine and diclofenac, whereas for caffeine and ibuprofen, the removal levels exceeded 90 %. Removal of TOC was also observed in tests where only the metal-free carbon support was used, most probably due to adsorption and hydrothermal carbonization, which could be considered as a route for organic matter removal, although low production of valuable gases was observed. In the catalysed experiment in addition to TOC, removal significant production of H-2 and CH4 was achieved. The application of APR to wastewater makes possible to remove pollutants and micro pollutants and simultaneously valorize organic matter to valuable gases.