Pesticide application to crops has the potential to contaminate drinking water sources. This goal of this project was to evaluate the efficiency of 5 treatment methods at reducing pesticide concentrations in water: activated carbon adsorption, chlorination with hypochlorite, ultraviolet (UV) light degradation, UV degradation with the addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ozonation and oxidation with ferrate. Pesticides studied were atrazine, alachlor and glyphosate. Most successful treatments were activated carbon adsorption and UV+H2O2. Less successful were ozonation, chlorination and UV without H2O2. Success of treatment methods was reflective of their oxidative potentials. Ferrate results could not be quantified. Formation of byproducts through ozonation and UV photolysis was observed.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• DeSantis, Amy Laura
• Price, Joshua Ross
• Klinkhamer, Erik Jon

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042512-114601

Advisor

• Bergendahl, John Andrew

Year

• 2012

Date created

• 2012-04-25

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Chemical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2021-01-28