CAREER: Development of Reactor Systems for Treatment of Non Point Source Pollution

传统的工程模式是以人类消费者为中心，以经济为主要驱动力，为具体问题找到有效的解决方案。这种模式往往会导致对问题采取简单化的方法，而没有考虑到导致可持续解决方案的因素。可持续性需要从环境、社会和经济等多个角度考虑较长期的影响。有效的工程师能够将这些资源集合在一起，并将它们与技术创新结合起来，提供持久且不会对后代造成伤害的解决方案。修复和销毁持久性污染物，开发和使用可再生能源和资源，以及开发显著减少或完全防止污染的过程和系统，是环境可持续性的三个基本要求。社会的可持续性既需要正义，也需要考虑所关注的文化。为了获得经济上的可持续性，一个进程或系统必须显示出长期盈利能力，或至少不会对所涉个人和/或实体的收入造成重大损失或对生活质量产生负面影响。必须在整体框架内考虑这些问题，必须系统地处理这些问题。虽然这些考虑和要求并不全面，但它们为处理可持续问题提供了一个很好的起点。本研究的目标是评估太阳能光化学处理，包括电增强光化学处理，对此类应用的有效性，重点是雨水径流和化粪池系统。拟议教育活动的总体目标是在南卡罗来纳大学为大学预科、本科生和研究生提供学习可持续发展的机会，并发展对必要的多学科概念的理解。土木工程和环境工程专业的学生将被特别重视。这项研究计划将由四个阶段组成。在第一阶段，将集中精力开发一种固定化催化剂，这种催化剂易于制备，价格低廉，可以作为电化学反应的阳极。第二阶段将利用实验室和太阳模拟研究来评估电场增强对光化学过程的影响，并确定动力学参数。将在不同的流型、推流、间歇和完全混合流下进行一系列实验，使用模型污染物，得到动力学流动模型。反应堆设计将在第三阶段进行。根据动力学流动模型选出的两到三个最有希望的反应堆方案将进行设计、建造、测试和优化。将在第四阶段，也就是最后阶段选择其中一种反应堆设计进行试点评估。

The traditional model for engineering is finding an efficient solution to specific problems, with the human consumer as the focus and economics as the primary driving force. This model often leads to a reductionist approach toproblems and fails to take into account factors that lead to sustainable solutions. Sustainability requires the consideration of longer-term effects from multiple points of view, environmental, social and economic. The effective engineer is capable of bringing together these resources and combining them with technical innovations to provide solutions that will last and do no harm to the generations to follow.Remediation and destruction of persistent pollutants, development and use of renewable energy sources and resources, and development of processes and system that significantly reduce or altogether prevent pollution are three of the primary requirements for environmental sustainability. Social sustainability requires both justice and consideration of the cultures of concern. In order to obtain economic sustainability a process or system must exhibit long term profitability or at minimum, no considerable loss of income or negative effect on the quality of life for the persons and/or entities involved. These issues must be considered in a holistic framework and problems must be approached systemically. While these considerations and requirements are not inclusive, they provide a good starting point for dealing with the issues of sustainability.The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of solar photochemical treatment, including electrically enhanced photochemical treatment, for such applications, with emphasis on stormwater runoff and septic systems. The overall goal of the proposed education activities is to provide opportunities at the University of South Carolina for pre-college, undergraduate and graduate students to learn about sustainability and develop an understanding of necessary multidisciplinary concepts. Particular emphasis will be placed on students in civil and environmental engineering.This research program will consist of four phases. In the first phase, the concentration will be on the development of an immobilized catalyst that is easy to prepare, inexpensive and can act as an anode for electrochemical reactions. Laboratory and solar simulation studies will be used in the second phase to evaluate the effect of electric field enhancement on the photochemical process and determine kinetic parameters. A series of experiments will be conducted in various flow regimes, plug-flow, batch and completely mixed flow, using model contaminants resulting in kinetic flow models. Reactor design will take place in the third phase. The two or three most promising reactor schemes, selected based on the kinetic flow model, will be designed built, tested and optimized. One of the reactor designs of phase several will be selected for the pilot evaluations in the fourth and final phase.