The Green Method in Water Management: Electron Beam Treatment

Abstract

During the prebiotic era, radiolytic transformations in the oceans played a key role in purifying water from toxic impurities and, thus, played a role in the formation of the aquatic environment of our planet, making it suitable for the emergence of life. Today, the planet again faces the challenge of how to provide people with clean water. Therefore, it is reasonable to look back at past historical stages and again consider the possibility of neutralizing pollutants in water by means of radiolysis, which has already been tested by time. Modern radiolytic treatments can be much faster and safer thanks to the advent of powerful electron accelerators and high-rate electron beam treatment (ELT) of water and wastewater. Radiolytic treatment of water using accelerated electrons corresponds to the essence of advanced oxidative technologies and green chemistry. The ELT of water instantly generates a high concentration of short-lived radicals that can quickly neutralize and decompose chemical and bacterial pollutants. Due to the ability of accelerated electrons to penetrate into a substance, ELT provides the decomposition of both dissolved and suspended pollutants. The cleaning effect of ELT is due to the ability to inactivate toxic and chromophore functional groups, transform impurities into an easily removable form, damage the DNA of microorganisms and their spore forms, and increase the biodegradability of organic impurities. The use of ELT in water treatment provides significant savings in chemical reagents, thereby improving quality and reducing the number of cleaning steps. The compactness, high degree of automation of the equipment used, energy efficiency, high productivity, and excellent compatibility with traditional water treatment methods are important advantages of ELT. Unlike conventional chemicals, the excess radicals generated in the ELT process are converted back to water and hydrogen; thus, the chemical and corrosive activity of water does not increase. Equipping research institutes with electron accelerators, developing cheaper accelerators, and granting government support for pilot projects are key conditions for introducing ELT into water treatment practice.

Impact of gamma-irradiation on the degradation and mineralization of hydroxychloroquine aqueous solutions

“…The slowing down phase obtained later is in favour of much slower degradation of formed aliphatic intermediates by cleavage of the long chains into carbon dioxide and water. Similar results have been obtained in previous studies (LaVerne et al 2000 ; Ponomarev et al 2020 ; Sánchez-Polo et al 2009 ; Zaouak et al 2020 , 2021a , b ).…”

“…The same behaviour was amply described in the literature and could be explained by the important role of the hydroxyl radicals, issuing by water radiolysis, which react rapidly and with non-selectively with organic matter leading to low molecular weight products like carboxylic acids which ultimately transformed into carbon dioxide and water after successive hydroxyl radical’s attacks (LaVerne. 2000 ; Ponomarev et al 2020 ; Sánchez-Polo et al 2009 ; Zaouak et al 2020 , 2021a , b ).…”

Application of Radiation Technology in Removing Endocrine Micropollutants from Waters and Wastewaters—A Review

“…Very often, in order to reduce the amount of the dose necessary to achieve a satisfactory degree of decomposition of organic pollutants, chemical support is used by adding, for example, ozone [18] or hydrogen peroxide [19,20]. One of the most effective methods is to combine radiation technologies with biological treatment [21,22]. Taking into account all the limitations of the use of radiation technologies, primarily electron accelerators, and compared to other AOPs, ionizing radiation technology provides economical, reliable, and safer operations leading to a reduction in the production of secondary toxic intermediates.…”

Efficient Decomposition of Organic Pollutants over nZVI/FeOx/FeNy-Anchored NC Layers via a Novel Dual-Reaction-Centers-Based Wet Air Oxidation Process under Natural Conditions

“…The increasing pollution of natural and synthetic organic compounds in water is one of the serious environmental problems faced by the world today which pose critical threats to public health due to the enrichment of biological chains, even at microconcentrations. − Among the emerging organic compounds, macromolecular matter with benzene ring structures is hard to biodegrade due to its stereochemical structure, which poses a severe challenge to the deep purification of wastewater.…”