A novel electrocatalytic Fe-TiO2 reactor for degrading persistent pollutants in wastewaters
| dc.contributor.author | Jahanshahi, Zahra | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Herring, Rodney A. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-10-01T16:58:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-10-01T16:58:52Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Mechanical Engineering | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Applied Science MASc | |
| dc.description.abstract | The pervasive presence of persistent organic pollutants in water systems presents a major threat to the environment and public health. Being based on physicochemical properties of contaminants, conventional wastewater treatment techniques proved ineffective in eliminating these contaminants due to their widely variable and complex nature. With vast urbanization and limited water resources, the need for innovative and scalable solutions that can target these contaminants of emerging concern is crucial. This study presents the development and optimization of a novel Fe-doped TiO₂-based electrocatalytic reactor for the degradation of methyl orange, a representative organic pollutant. The degradation studies showed that the rate of methyl orange (MO) removal increases consistently with electric current, achieving up to 95.6% degradation at 16 A in 40 min without saturation, confirming steady hydroxyl radical generation. Using titanium electrodes, particularly when modified with a native TiO₂ layer, significantly improved degradation efficiency while reducing voltage requirements compared to stainless steel setups, achieving up to 94.7% degradation in 12 minutes at lower voltages. The efficiency of this process relative to electron density can be calculated as 22.4%, meaning generation of each hydroxyl radical consumes 4 to 5 electrons, which is orders of magnitudes more efficient than currently used methods, such as using chemicals and photonic activation. This work strives to address key limitations of current approaches in utilizing titanium dioxide crystals in treating water and wastewater, including catalyst immobilization, energy efficiency, and operational simplicity, paving the way for industrial applicability. | |
| dc.description.embargo | 2026-09-05 | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Graduate | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22819 | |
| dc.language | English | eng |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | |
| dc.subject | Persistent organic pollutants | |
| dc.subject | TiO2 | |
| dc.subject | Electrocatalysis | |
| dc.subject | Reactor | |
| dc.title | A novel electrocatalytic Fe-TiO2 reactor for degrading persistent pollutants in wastewaters | |
| dc.type | Thesis |